Trump’s Gift From Qatar Is Blatantly Unconstitutional

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, it was reported that the Trump administration plans to accept a luxury plane as a donation from the Qatari royal family, which will be upgraded to serve as Air Force One.

Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, issued the following statement in response:

“Trump’s plan to accept a luxury plane from Qatar is blatantly unconstitutional, a textbook violation of the emoluments clause. The concern with foreign gifts is that they can sway a president’s policy and predilections — and there’s little doubt that Qatar wants to gift Trump a “palace in the sky” for exactly that reason.

“The legal counsel who advised that this gift is OK because Trump will take personal control of it (through his library) only after leaving office should resign immediately, in shame and disgrace. The situation is no different than if the Qataris gave $400 million in cash to Trump and told him to keep it under his bed until 2029, when he could spend it freely. Except possibly it’s worse, because he will use the plane in the interim, at great cost to the US taxpayer, who will have to upgrade it.

“Even in a presidency defined by grift, this move is shocking. It makes clear that US foreign policy under Donald Trump is up for sale. The juxtaposition with cancelled foreign aid grants and programs for poor and vulnerable people — cancellations that will cost millions of lives unless reversed — could not be starker or more morally grotesque.”