President Trump is getting a new Air Force One plane! From Qatar. According to ABC News earlier today, President Trump is on the verge of accepting one of THE LARGEST gifts ever given to a U.S. President.

In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar — a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement told ABC News.

The gift had been expected to be announced next week, when Trump visits Qatar on the first foreign trip of his second term, according to sources familiar with the plans. But a senior White House official said the gift will not be presented or gifted while the president is in Qatar this week.

Trump toured the plane, which is so opulently configured it is known as “a flying palace,” while it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February.

ABC’s Jonathan Karl breathlessly opined about this amazing largess from Qatar on X. 

ABC EXCLUSIVE: President Trump is poised to accept a luxury jet as a gift from Qatar.

It’s to be used as Air Force One and then transferred to the Trump library by January 2029.

Perhaps the biggest foreign gift ever. DOJ insists it’s legal, not bribery, not violation of…

— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) May 11, 2025

Here’s the issue with this. It’s TOTALLY FALSE. First, read Karl’s X post again. Isn’t it swell how he slides the mention of bribery in there? You just KNOW people are going to run with all the scissors on this. Except, it’s not true. 

The Wall Street Journal wrote about Trump’s frustrations with Boeing and his decision to have another plane retrofitted. A plane that was FORMERLY used by the Qatari government. 

The U.S. government has commissioned L3Harris LHX to overhaul a Boeing 747 formerly used by the Qatari government. The Melbourne, Fla.-based company is tasked with retrofitting the plane with certain specialized systems to transform the luxury aircraft into a presidential jet, some of the people said.

Here’s the thing. Do you know how old the current Air Force One and Two planes are? I didn’t, until now. Those two planes, the only two in existence for the United States, are about 35 years old. Yes, you read that correctly. They were brand spanking new in 1990, during the George H.W. Bush administration! 

President Trump was able to get new planes commissioned during his first term. And then this happened: 

Around the November elections, Boeing representatives signaled to federal officials that the plane maker wouldn’t be able to deliver the new planes for about another decade—until around 2035, according to people familiar with the discussion. Boeing has, in particular, recently struggled with the planes’ complicated wiring and structural issues, including some related to holes for doors cut into the lower lobes of the aircraft, some of these people said.

New planes…maybe...by 2029 or 2035. 

I don’t care WHO is President of the United States, this is unacceptable. Quite frankly, Boeing needs to get their shit together. 

I don’t blame President Trump one bit for looking for an alternative that is ready and waiting. But instead of calling Boeing on the carpet for failing to deliver new Air Force One planes for the President of the United States because it’s Trump; ABC News is implying that President Trump is accepting bribes and gifts from foreign governments. 

Of course, what no one is reporting is that:

A. Qatar isn’t gifting this directly to Donal Trump. The plane would be a gift to the United States. 

B. President Trump is rightfully upset that Boeing has totally failed to honor their contract. The Air Force One planes were to be finished LAST YEAR. And now they claim it will be 10 years from now before we’ll even see one on the tarmac. 

Again, that’s unacceptable. 

But here’s the media with Jonathan Karl in the lead, taking the bait and running with it, downhill at top speed. All while ignoring the fact that this is yet another massive failure on Boeing’s part. 

The media really wants to make this a story about Trump accepting a bribe from Qatar. 

They are ignoring the REAL scandal of Boeing failing to meet a major contract that has huge national security implications.

Everybody is missing the big story on the Qatari plane. The current Air Force One was commissioned in 1985, built in 1986, flew first in 1987, and was delivered in 1990. The new 747 was commissioned in 2018 and won’t be ready to 2029. Boeing is sclerotic and needs reform.

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) May 11, 2025

I hate to tell you this Carol, but the media has failed their test. 

Feature Photo Credit: President Trump on Air Force One in 2017, via iStock, cropped and modified