‘Qatar Is A Rogue Regime’: Both Sides Angry Over Airplane Gift
Voices on the right speak as loudly against Trump acceptance of luxury jet
Prominent voices on the political right are as angry as those on the left that Donald Trump’s chosen to accept the gift of a $400 million aircraft from the royal family of Qatar.
This outrage from across the political spectrum comes as the Trump administration is preparing to accept delivery of a superluxury Boeing 747-8 jet from the royal family of Qatar, to be used as Air Force One for the remainder of Trump’s second term. After that, ownership will transfer to Trump’s presidential library for his personal use.
The aircraft is valued at more than $400 million.
While criticism from the left generally focuses on the obvious corruption such a massive gift represents, those on the right tend to focus on the history of the government giving the gift.
Rep Jamie Raskin, the prominent Maryland Democrat who has been a persistent critic of the current administration, called Trump’s acceptance of the aircraft illegal unless he gets permission from Congress, “because the Constitution forbids the president from accepting any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever.
“The Constitution says, from a king, prince, or foreign state, without the consent of Congress. So he’s got to come to Congress first,” Raskin said.
Those on the right, however, seem less worried about the corruption that the gift represents and more so about its source.
“My problem with taking this plane from Qatar is I do not think the president of the United States of America should sit and fly on a plane purchased with the same money used to murder American citizens,” said Erick Erickson, a well-known commentator on the right.
“Qatar is a rogue regime that is not our friend. And many people in Washington, DC treat Qatar the way they treated China 20 years ago, as if it’s some innocent country that’s just involved in things,” he added.
Another prominent commentator, Ben Shapiro, pointed to Qatar’s support for the militant group, Hamas and the independent news outlet, al-Jazeera.
“Taking sacks of goodies from people who support Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera, all the rest. That‘s not America first. Like, please define ‘America First’ in a way that says [that] you should take sacks of cash from the qatari royals who are behind Al Jazeera. It just isn‘t America First in any conceivable way.”
Please support our work…
Please subscribe…