From Qatar, through US, to Trump
US President Donald Trump continues to shock his own people and the world by showing complete disregard to the traditions which have guided his predecessors. The latest shock is the controversy concerning the US accepting a ‘gift’ of an airplane whose estimated value is around US $ 400 million from Qatar; he visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar earlier this week. The plane will be technically given to the US Department of Defense. After it is fitted with all the necessary equipment that a US Presidential aircraft requires, it will be used as Air Force One.
Air Force One is among the most recognized aircraft in the world for it is used by the US President. It is, for many people in the world one of the symbols of the US itself. Media reports indicate that the two aircraft presently being used as Air Force One are of 1990 and 1991 vintage. Orders for their replacements were placed with the Boeing company in 2018 but there have been delays. It is now expected that they will be supplied in 2027. Trump is deeply annoyed at not having a new plane as Air Force One. This is where the Qatari offer comes in; the plane to be ‘gifted’ is one of the latest in the Boeing series.
A furious controversy has broken out in the US over the Qatari offer and Trump’s decision to accept it. The controversy concerns both propriety and legality. In the midst of the criticism of his decision Trump posted on the social media the following comment “The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years. It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive. Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country. Thank you for your attention to this matter”!
Trump’s critics are pointing out that while the Department of Defence will be the recipient of the plane it will transfer it to the Trump Presidential Library when he demits office on January 20, 2029. Once that is done Trump will be able to use it. Hence, though the aircraft may technically be a gift to the US from Qatar the eventual beneficiary will be Trump. Going by this logic, these critics are pointing out that the US constitution bars any person holding an office under the federal administration from accepting gifts from a foreign government. Indeed, generally, US officials make it known to foreign governments that under US law they cannot accept anything beyond token gifts.
This also applies to Presidents. Hence, if any expensive state gifts are given to them, they are not retained for their personal use, but kept in public places. Trump is obviously and openly going against this convention and perhaps even the law. It is certainly possible that the matter of the Qatari aircraft will go to the Courts but then Trump has scant regard for the judicial process. Certainly, he is not the one to shirk it.
It is not clear though how the Trump faithful will react to his decision. Will they go along with the view he angrily reiterated to a reporter that only a fool refuses a gift? Or will they feel a tinge of unhappiness once Trump begins to travel on the Air Force One ‘gifted’ by Qatar? This is especially because some of them may feel that a US President must travel on an Air Force One paid for by US taxpayers.
They may also become unhappy that the plane will eventually be used by Trump after his retirement. As for his critics they are also asking the pertinent question what would Qatar expect in return for the ‘gift’. Trump administration officials are denying that there is any quid pro quo. As Trump is mercurial it is quite possible that he may eventually call off the idea of accepting the Qatari plane but for the time being that does not seem likely. In any event this matter is once again drawing the attention of the world to the fact that Trump, first and last, thinks and acts more as a businessman than as the ultimate leader of the world’s pre-eminent country.
Official gifts from one state to the leaders of another state have sometimes got the recipient leaders into trouble. Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan knows this to his cost. He retained expensive gifts at a fraction of their value contravening Pakistani laws concerning the retention of gifts received from foreign governments. His wife and he were hauled up in Court. However, this issue has not diminished Khan’s popularity among his true followers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as well as Punjab.
The civilian government and the army had hoped that it would. Trump’s case falls in a different category because of the enormous value of the gift and the symbolism attached to Air Force One. This is also because the Trump family has business interests in some of the Arab Peninsula countries.
