Ethics Run Amok

President Trump’s decision for the U.S. government to accept an airplane from Qatar valued at almost $400 million to serve as Air Force One raises many ethical issues. Before examining those issues, here is a summary of what led up to the decision including why Trump decided to do it, widespread criticisms of his actions, security concerns, and Constitutional Issues.

Air Force One Planes

The two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly four decades, and Trump is eager to replace them. Boeing has been working on retrofitting 747s that were originally built for a now-defunct Russian airliner. The Boeing replacement planes aren’t due to be finished until near the end of Trump’s term, and he’s out of patience. According to PBS News Trump has described the situation as “a total mess,” and he has complained that Air Force One isn’t as nice as the planes flown by some Arab leaders. Trump said Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, offered a replacement plane that could be used while the government was waiting for Boeing to finish. “We give free things out,” Trump said. “We’ll take one, too.”

Trump dismissed suggestions that he should turn down the plane, comparing the potential gift to favors on the golf course. “When they give you a putt, you pick it up and you walk to the next hole and you say, ‘Thank you very much,’” he said. To accept this comparison requires that we suspend disbelief.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota expressed skepticism. “I understand his frustration. They’re way behind schedule on delivering the next Air Force One,” the Republican told reporters. “Whether or not this is the right solution or not, I don’t know.”

Mississippi GOP Senator Roger Wicker said that any plane “needs to be gifted to the United States of America.” He added that whether the U.S. should accept a Qatari plane warranted further inquiry. “There’ll be some questions about that, and this issue, I expect, will be vetted by the time a decision needs to be made,” he said.

Criticisms of the Plan

The obvious criticism of the plan is the potential for a conflict of interest for Trump during his presidency. What happens if Qatar decides to support Hamas’s military actions in its war with Israel. Will Trump’s position be ground down because of the gifting of the plane? Quite frankly, while Trump may not allow his decision to affect his support for Israel, that’s not the issue. The truth is the acceptance of the plane can create the impression in the minds of the public that he might be so influenced. In other words, the optics are bad!

“This is unprecedented,” said Jessica Levinson to PBS News, Levinson is a constitutional law expert at Loyola Law School. “We just haven’t tested these boundaries before.”

Trump tried to quell some of the opposition by saying he wouldn’t fly around in the gifted Qatari Boeing 747 when his term ends. According to PBS News, “It would go directly to the future presidential library after I leave office,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t be using it.”

Some say this is similar to what happened to the $400 million Air Force One plane that was donated to President Reagan Presidential Library. That plane was decommissioned and put on display as a museum piece. However, this plane entered service during the Nixon administration in 1972. It served all US presidents until George W. Bush and was retired in 2001. It is now on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The plan was accepted by the Secretary of the Air Force James G. Roche.

Democrats are united in outrage, and even some of the Republican president’s allies are worried. Laura Loomer an outspoken conspiracy theorist who has tried to purge disloyal officials from the administration, wrote on social media that she would “take a bullet for Trump” but said she’s “so disappointed.” Congressional Republicans have also expressed some doubts about the plan.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul flatly said he was a “No” on whether Trump should accept the plane. When asked to elaborate on his reasoning, Paul replied: “I don’t think it looks good or smells good.” The Republican shrugged when asked by a reporter if there were “constitutional questions.” Mississippi GOP Sen. Roger Wicker said that any plane “needs to be gifted to the United States of America.”

Common Cause

According to the organization, Common Cause the relationship between the Trump administration and the Qatari government, which have called this exchange a transaction between the Qatari ministry of defense and the United States Department of Defense, is a stretch. Many questions need to be addressed to ensure everything is totally above board, as stated by both Trump and the Qatari government,

Common Cause hit the nail on the head when it said the arrangement “doesn’t pass the laugh test. It has said that the plan seems to be:

1. Accept a luxury plane from Qatar using the power of the presidency.
2. Use it as Air Force One for a little while and retrofit it at taxpayer expense.
3. Keep it for Trump’s foundation after leaving office.”

They conclude, “that’s a pretty good deal – for Trump. But it’s a terrible one for the American people and our democracy.”

Will the new plane be secure?

The Qatari plane has been described as a “palace in the sky,” complete with luxurious accommodations and top-of-the-line finishes. However, there are many security issues raised about the arrangement with President Trump.

According to PBS News, the security of Presidential travel is the primary concern. The current Air Force One planes “are hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast and include a range of security features, such as anti-missile countermeasures and an onboard operating room. They are also equipped with air-to-air refueling capabilities for contingencies, though it has never been utilized with a president on board.”

Converting a Qatar-donated Boeing 747 into a new Air Force One for President Trump could require vast sums of money, take years to complete and may introduce alarming capability shortcomings and security vulnerabilities into the chief executive’s aircraft, aviation experts said.

Upgrading a 747 from scratch with those capabilities could take into the 2030s, according to Richard Aboulafia an expert in military aircraft and managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory. Moreover, it would cost “billions and billions” of dollars and take years to complete.

“Even the ability to manage and communicate with military forces all over the globe with encrypted comms — that’s a tremendously expensive undertaking,” Aboulafia said. “It is underway in the other 747-8s [slated for the VC-25B program]. Starting over again with the same plane would take a lot longer.”

Constitutional Issues

Here’s what the law says about expensive foreign gifts, and why it matters according to Common Cause:

“According to the U.S. Constitution, Congress must approve any gift from a foreign country to a U.S. official. One of the most famous times Congress followed this rule was in 1877, when it approved France’s gift of the Statue of Liberty.

There’s a reason Congress is supposed to approve gifts from foreign governments: it’s to stop bribery and foreign influence. Think about it: if foreign countries can hand out million-dollar presents to U.S. presidents, who will the president feel more loyal to, his constituents, or another government?

In this case, the gift might have something to do with the Trump Organization’s business dealings in Qatar, which now include investing $5.5 billion in a golf resort. By accepting this gift, Critics claim that Trump has shown once again that he sought the presidency to put money in his own pockets, not to look out for what’s best for America.

Congress hasn’t approved this gift, and even some Republicans in Congress have called it out saying the lavish plane goes too far and raises serious national security risks.

But instead of turning down the gift, Trump’s team is trying to find a way around the law. Attorney General Pam Bondi has been attempting to argue that this transfer is legal. But it’s important to note that Bondi was a lobbyist for Qatar from 2019 to 2020. Her former lobbying firm was making $115,000 per month lobbying for the Qatari government. 

This means that the person leading the charge in support of this gift was being paid by Qatar not long ago. 

Common Cause concludes that when Trump’s presidency ends, the aircraft will be handed over to his presidential library foundation, which means that Trump would get a private, $400 million plane courtesy of a foreign government. “It’s not normal for a U.S. president to accept a luxury jet from a foreign country. This isn’t how democracy is supposed to work. The president isn’t supposed to be for sale to the highest bidder.”

Emoluments Cause of the US Constitution

The Emoluments Clause in the U.S. Constitution prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts, titles, or other benefits from foreign governments or foreign rulers without the consent of Congress. This clause, found in Article I, Section 9, Clause 8, aims to prevent undue foreign influence and corruption of American officials. 

It seems clear to me that Trump’s actions regarding the acceptance of a future Air Force One from Qatar is chock full of ethical holes. As I blogged about before, the handwriting was on the ethical wall when Trump fired 18 inspector generals (IGs) across some of the most vital Cabinet agencies, along with the heads of the Office of Special Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics. These two IGs and the two independent offices were created to investigate complaints from whistleblowers and employees and to oversee ethics rules for the White House as well as to provide an independent check on executive power at the agency level.

It’s clear to me that Trump’s first action as President—dismantling the structure that oversees ethical behavior in the executive branch—set the stage for the kinds of actions we are witnessing. It’s not just the arrangement with Qatar. Just last week Trump hosted an event with the biggest investors in the President Trump memecoin.  He promised that he would promote the crypto industry. Protesters outside condemned the event as a historic corruption of the presidency.

Let me conclude by quoting Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin who is an American actress, comedian, producer, singer, and writer.

“No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up.”

Posted by Dr. Steven Mintz, aka Ethics Sage, on May 27, 2025. You can learn more about Steve’s activities by checking out his website at: https://www.stevenmintzethics.com/ and signing up for his newsletter.