MAGA is Turning on Trump Over Qatar’s Expensive Gift

When I used to work at NBC news as an intern, we weren’t allowed to accept gifts greater than $25 due to ethics. As a journalist, your integrity is everything. I’m not sure why people who are less powerful, and chronically underpaid like journalists, are held to much higher standards than the US president but I guess this is where we are at.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Trump is accepting a jet from Qatar for Air Force One. Attorney General Pam Bondi signed off the deal and now everyone, including MAGA loyalists are mad.

Pic VIA BBC

This is not any ordinary deal, it’s a clear violation of so many standards the US president or anyone in powerful positioning should follow. Getting “gifted” such an expensive jet is a terrible idea, and sets a very bad foundation for what our unethical relationship with Qatar will be. Let’s dive into it and examine the implications.

On Sunday, multiple outlets reported that the Qatari royal family is slated to give Trump a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet. First it will be used as Air Force One in Trumps second term, then donated to his presidential library. The jet is about 13 years old, priced at $400 million.

Although people like Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer have criticized this ridiculous gift, their MAGA counterparts have joined the public outrage as well, which shows that a shift amongst the Republican Party could very well be underway.

Laura Loomer, Islamophobe and problematic figure amongst the far right slew of influencers tweeted:

"I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him…but, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million 'gift' from jihadists in suits."

Unsurprisingly she couldn’t leave her Islamophobia out of her statement, but a win is a win I guess?

Trump at some point caught wind of the bipartisan outrage, and posted on Truth Social:

So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA

Even with his statement, more Republicans came forward to express their outrage! Like Loomer, they echoed the same Islamophobic sentiments:

Taking sacks of goodies from people who support Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, al-Jazeera, all the rest, that's not America first. Like, please define America first in a way that says you should take sacks of cash from the Qatari royals who are behind al-Jazeera… if you want President Trump to succeed, this kind of skeezy stuff needs to stop.

Republican representative from Ohio, Warren Davidson also spoke out against it, although his message was much more illusive:

I recall trying to rally support for a thorough investigation of the Clinton Foundation," he wrote. "It seemed odd that a Secretary of State / Senator / First Lady / Presidential candidate could collect hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign governments with no corruption. The appearance of corruption alone screams, 'Bad idea!”

Then there were others like Republican Senator Rick Scott, who warned that Trump flying on a plane from a “country that has helped fund Hamas” could be dangerous for Trump’s safety. (Ridiculous)

This gift isn’t also just an ethical issue, it could also violate the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, which prohibits government officials demo accepting gifts to benefits from fearing parties without prior consent from Congress.

If integrity truly mattered in politics as much as it does in journalism, we wouldn’t be debating whether a former president should accept a $400 million jet from Qatar while having history of questionable loyalties.

The double standard is obvious… while low-paid journalists are crucified for a free lunch, Trump shrugs off bipartisan outrage over a massive gift from Qatar as if it’s business as usual.

It’s not.

This is a clear ethical breach, a potential constitutional violation, and a troubling signal of how normalized foreign influence has become in American politics.

If both sides of the aisle can agree this is unethical (no matter how problematic their statements can be), then maybe it’s time we stop pretending Trump is above the rules.

The presidency, past or present, should never be for sale, especially not to the highest foreign bidder.