Media: Qatari jet gift to Trump triggers new corruption firestorm

A reported plan for President Donald Trump’s administration to accept a luxury aircraft from Qatar has reignited serious concerns over corruption, foreign influence, and potential violations of the US Constitution. With the plane allegedly set to transfer to Trump’s presidential library foundation, critics argue this high-profile gift crosses a clear ethical and legal line—one that even Trump-friendly outlets are beginning to question.

The Qatari government offered a multi-hundred-million-dollar luxury aircraft—described as a “palace in the sky”—to be used as Air Force One. The plane would later be transferred to Trump’s presidential library foundation, raising alarms about potential violations of the Constitution’s “emoluments” clause, which prohibits US officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

The issue was serious enough to prompt rare scrutiny from Trump-friendly Fox News. On May 12, host Brian Kilmeade asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, “Do you worry that if they give us something like this, they want something in return?”

Leavitt responded: “Absolutely not, because they know President Trump, and they know he only works with the interests of the American public in mind.”

However, polling data suggests that many Americans are not so confident. A March YouGov poll found that more than 6 in 10 Americans believe the label “corrupt” applies to Trump either “a lot” (46%) or “a little” (18%). In a January CNN poll, 60 per cent of independents and 53 per cent of all respondents expressed concern that Trump wouldn’t avoid conflicts between his presidency and his business empire.

Trump has said he would not personally use the aircraft. But legal experts and ethics watchdogs argue that the optics—and the legality—are problematic. “This would transparently violate the Constitution’s ‘emoluments’ clause,” several experts told The Washington Post.

Critics argue the potential transfer of such a gift is far more straightforward—and thus politically damaging—than previous allegations. Earlier scandals involving foreign governments doing business at Trump’s hotels or a $2 billion Saudi investment in Jared Kushner’s private equity fund were complicated and harder for the public to grasp. By contrast, the idea of a foreign government giving Trump a jet is simple and stark.

The situation also comes amid explosive reporting on Trump profiting from cryptocurrency ventures, another area riddled with conflict-of-interest concerns.

While Trump has survived past scandals with little political cost, this case could prove different. It’s a gift, from a controversial foreign government, potentially becoming part of his personal orbit—an arrangement that may be too brazen for even some of his supporters to ignore.

By Vafa Guliyeva