OPINION:
President Trump confirmed he is accepting a luxurious Boeing 747-8 plane from the royal family in Qatar that he will use as Air Force One — a $400 million gift that he promised would be received as a “very public and transparent transaction.” As if that makes it OK. It doesn’t.
America doesn’t need freebies and giveaways from governments of nations that harbor terrorists and conduct blatant anti-American operations.
And to take this plane at a time when Israel is whispering of worries about Trump — well, that’s just a double whammy of wrong moves.
“As Trump heads to the Gulf, Israel asks where it stands,” Reuters just wrote about reports of Trump’s plans to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE, but not Israel.
“Trump repeatedly bypasses Netanyahu, stoking dismay among Israelis,” The Washington Post wrote.
“Disagreements on Iran, Gaza, straining Trump-Netanyahu relationship,” NBC News wrote.
Call it fake news; call it fake media. But the perception stands, and it stands so tall that newly approved U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee had to come out and soothe Israelis’ concerns about Trump.
“What he’s doing [by bypassing Israel on his Middle East trip] is not because he’s snubbing Israel,” Huckabee said, The Times of Israel reported. “I would just say to people, ‘Relax, calm down, Donald Trump loves you, there’s not doubt about that, he’s got your back. He is the same Donald Trump that, for four years as president, did more for Israel than any other American president.’”
That may be. That’s all true.
But now that same Trump is reportedly accepting a $400 million luxury plane from the same country that sparked this headline in December in The International Affairs Review: “An Analysis of Qatari Connections to Illicit Terror Financing and the Resulting Foreign Policy Implications.” And Trump himself is aware of these connections.
“On June 6, 2017, President Donald Trump released three tweets that dealt with a thorny topic in U.S. foreign relations: Qatar’s financial ties to extremist groups. Qatar’s alleged support of regional terrorist networks such as the Muslim Brotherhood have long been problematic to U.S.-Gulf relations,” the organization wrote.
Yada yada.
The analysis goes on.
It’s not just The International Affairs Review that has noted Qatar’s questionable associations with terrorists. Plenty of other sources have reported similarly.
Yet: “In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar — a gift that is to be available for use by … Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation,” ABC News wrote.
Democrats are criticizing the gift as a violation of Article One, Section Nine, Clause Eight of the Constitution — the Emoluments Clause — which prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts and titles and benefits from foreign governments without congressional approval — and sad to say, they have a point.
But more than the Democrats’ usual whining about all-things-Trump, the fact is America doesn’t need a free plane from another government. America can build her own dang planes.
And isn’t that what this administration is all about, anyway — build America; buy America; make America great again?
It’s a bad look for Trump to talk a big game about bringing manufacturing back to America, then turning elsewhere for a plane, the construction of which translates into U.S. jobs, U.S. money, U.S. manufacturing.
That — plus the whole “Qatar finances terrorism” thing.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Who cares what the Democrats think.
Still, America is either MAGA — or not.
And a president who flies on official U.S. business in a plane gifted by a government with ties to terror is sending a message that is very non-MAGA. America can do for herself. Americans can provide for themselves — and for their president. Trump may be thinking like a businessman here, and his heart is no doubt in the right place. But national pride and national security are at risk. And for that reason, his next move should be to tell Qatar thanks, but no thanks. Americans can build one even better.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
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