In May 2025 the Trump administration accepted a Boeing 747-8 from the government of Qatar to be retrofitted as Air Force One; the Defense Department formally accepted it on May 21. The White House called it a gift to the Defense Department, and Trump has said he would not use it after leaving office and wants to keep it in his presidential library. Time described it as “worth an estimated $400 million”; FactCheck.org noted it “would actually be valued at about $400 million if it were new.” Trump posted, “Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our country.”
Democratic lawmakers and independent watchdogs say the gift violates the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bars any federal officeholder from accepting a present from a foreign state without the consent of Congress. Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer: “it's so obviously, a violation of the emoluments clause.” A legal expert told FactCheck.org that a gift to the government for use as Air Force One would be legal, but that donating it to Trump's library would not. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer placed a hold on Justice Department nominees: “This is not just naked corruption, it is also a grave national security threat.” Georgetown law professor David Super: “it creates a huge conflict of interest.”
Trump first flew on the jet as Air Force One on July 1, 2026. Asked what the retrofit cost taxpayers, he did not say; the Air Force secretary had told Congress it would probably cost less than $400 million, “though some experts say the real number could be much higher,” NPR reported. For the Secret Service's concerns about the plane, see The Secret Service Told Trump Not to Fly His Qatari-Gifted Air Force One Out of a War Zone, Because It Lacks the Old Plane's Defenses.
Correction (September 25, 2026): this entry previously quoted Norm Eisen calling the jet the “Largest foreign bribe to a president in American history.” That phrase is from the headline of a Senate Democratic press release (which says “in Modern History”), not from Eisen; his quoted words are above. The entry was dated to January 2025; the gift was reported and accepted in May 2025. It described the plane as “offered Trump,” “customized” and worth $400 million, and made claims about Qatar's energy resources and military base that no attached source supported; it now says what the sources say.