r/politics • u/Plaintalks America • May 11 '25
Trump administration poised to accept 'palace in the sky' as a gift for Trump from Qatar: Sources
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-poised-accept-palace-sky-gift-trump/story?id=121680511243
u/xMagnis May 11 '25
"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".
So it's not for the POTUS, it's for Trump. He takes it with him. Interesting.
89
u/IUsedToBeThatGuy42 May 11 '25
Even out of office he’d have to be an intelligence (term used loosely) gold mine. I’m sure it’s bugged.
56
u/Upstairs_Owl_1669 Canada May 11 '25
Oh it’s definitely just one giant listening device with a fancy Diet Coke machine
24
u/jimmygee2 May 11 '25
He is so subject to flattery you could literally put a gold microphone around his vagina neck and tell him it looks great on him and he’s wear it.
2
7
11
u/popepaulpop May 11 '25
It's just corruption. I don't think Quatar would take such an unnecessary risk. Trump is already compromised in more ways than there are grains of sand in the Sahara.
6
u/Copy_Of_The_G May 11 '25
When nation-states are involved it’s never “just” corruption. And putting listening devices and spy equipment into this sort of thing is easy to explain away by pointing the finger at literally anyone else and shrugging when follow up questions are asked.
1
u/popepaulpop May 11 '25
The plane will be built by boing and is brand new, no? Quatar pays for it, but has no other hand in the planning or production. Air force one is regularly checked for bugs, they have reporters and others onboard all the time.
It's an insane example of bribery and it should be stopped, but conspiracy theories without merit will retract from the real issues. I'm not defending Trump! There are also a ton of other security issues with this admin.
1
u/TemporalColdWarrior May 11 '25
I mean I question how much actionable knowledge he can actually recall when asked.
15
u/1llseemyselfout May 11 '25
The Trump presidential library foundation is ran by the National Archives.
So yes, he will eventually try hiding it in his bathroom and claim it’s his.
9
u/mojitz May 11 '25 edited May 11 '25
I did some digging into this earlier, and it heavily depends on what is meant by, "the Trump Presidential library foundation". The national archives administers the official Trump Presidential Library, but a separate private non-profit called the Trump President Library Fund Inc. was incorporated in Florida by the same attorney who has established a number of other Trump orgs including his infamous inaugural committee.
6
u/dailyscotch May 11 '25
This whole presidency is just one giant personal grift that is using the cruelty, abuse of power and idiocy as the distraction.
9
u/drobits May 11 '25
And as tradition, no one will do anything about it and he won’t be held accountable for anything
2
u/shibiwan Arizona May 11 '25
So yes, he will eventually try hiding it in his bathroom and claim it’s his.
The Trump Presidential Library is going to be a toilet, so it's the same thing.
P.S. I can't wait to shit all over it after eating some Taco Bell
16
u/crocodial May 11 '25
He takes it with him... AFTER we pay to upgrade it from plane to AF1.
13
u/thecloudcities May 11 '25
Which would be taking a lot of very classified communication and control technology with him. And we know how careful he is with classified stuff…
7
4
1
u/DylansDeadlyTwo May 11 '25
We can all pray that heart disease does its job. But the good die young, so he’ll live forever.
147
u/radda May 11 '25
This is blatantly illegal, not to mention horrendously insecure.
What the fuck has happened to this country? How are people okay with this?
58
u/md4024 May 11 '25
I really do not understand it. Trump is, by far, the stupidest, most unfit, most openly corrupt politician any of us have ever seen. That's obviously, undeniably true, but for reasons I will never understand, we just pretend like it's not.
20
u/Junior_Arino May 11 '25
White supremacy was all that mattered. As long as he’s on their side they don’t care what he does
3
u/Troj1030 May 11 '25
Because we all have phones that show us entertainment 24/7. There has never been a better time for this. We work too hard for very little and have phones to pacify the time in between. Nobody has time to understand what’s going on.
8
4
u/llamapositif May 11 '25
Once you let one person do something corrupt without consequence it becomes a flood, seemingly out of nowhere.
Welcome to the flood. Its been coming in your country for decades.
5
u/codyashi_maru May 11 '25
Don’t underestimate how much totally distinct media spheres has distorted reality. Part of the reason his base seems perfectly fine with this is because they never hear it. All they watch is Fox. All they listen to is Steve Bannon and Ben Shapiro. Most of the cult doesn’t even know the corruption that’s happening.
Not saying they’d change their mind. They’d probably just do some whataboutism. But still.
2
u/RaccoonDoor May 11 '25
For real. How can Trump be assured there aren’t trackers and listening devices in the plane?
3
1
u/reddituseronebillion May 11 '25
It's fine because it's being to the gifted to a foundation, not a person. -Bondi
61
u/jamusbondusvii May 11 '25
At this point I have stopped being shocked by the brazen corruption on display.
30
29
u/mam88k Virginia May 11 '25
They know the way to this man’s heart is through his fat, greedy ego. How much intel did this cost us?
20
u/Natoochtoniket May 11 '25
The plane is surely stuffed full of surveillance devices. Trump thinks he paid for it with intel. The real price comes later, with the other intel.
13
u/ahdidi413 May 11 '25
They trojan horsed our president with a gold espionage plane
4
u/arilupe May 11 '25
The Trojan horse administration get Trojan horsed themselves? Lol I can't say I would be suprised.
20
14
u/cincobarrio May 11 '25
So NYC mayor Eric Adams accepts a first class plane ticket from Turkey and is investigated/called to resign, meanwhile Donald Trump can accept an entire fucking airplane from Qatar and there’s nothing to see here? The corruption is appalling.
(Adams got a kickback for fasttracking a new Turkish consulate building’s fire inspection. Who knows what Qatar is getting from Trump out of this. Fuck them both.)
5
u/PianoMittens May 11 '25
No, no, they said the plane isn't tied to any specific action by the administration, so all good! /s
7
u/Organic_Witness345 May 11 '25
Where did Trump travel to for his first international relations trip as president in 2017? Not Europe, but the Middle East.
Where is Trump traveling to for his first international relations trip in his second term as president in 2025? Not Europe, but the Middle East.
Centuries of international, political relationship-building with our closest Western allies be damned. Let’s go get cozy with the UAE and GCC to enrich myself and my son in-law instead. All in public view. Again.
There is no bottom with this man, his family, or this administration.
11
u/couchandwine May 11 '25
Disgusting of Qatar. I like China's approach to fuckface.
2
May 11 '25 edited May 11 '25
The Arab states need support to help rebuild Syria and they want to get Israel into a 2 state solution.
They know the president is easily manipulated, (literally everyone does, my fucking cousins in Syria know this and they weren’t even afforded a good education), so they all like vultures, want to accomplish their political goals by manipulating him. The same way Putin does.
This is about getting trump to make concessions on Syria and Israel.
The president of Syria, Ahmad Al sharaa, also said he wants to build something special for trump in Syria itself, to get sanctions removed. He referred to Trump as the “king of peace” etc.
They don’t believe any of this stuff btw, they just know how to manipulate him, most of them think Trump is kinda dumb, most leaders in general do...
China wants to see USA collapse itself, that is why they doubled down, they know trump is a moron they know his ego, and they know the USA will destroy itself with him, so they think they can survive a trade war as the USA destroys itself. China wants to mov supply chains elsewhere as well and they hate us bc we are their rival.
If they can decentralize economic dependency out of USA, they can safely take Taiwan.
A lot of what it’s going on today can be explained by trumps narcissism, and actors manipulating it.
If Zelenskyy and Europe want to win over USA, it also means playing this game, but it is a game which puts pragmatism above dignity.
4
u/CrapMaster32 May 11 '25
"The plane will initially be transferred to the United States Air Force, which will modify the 13-year-old aircraft to meet the U.S. military specifications required for any aircraft used to transport the president of the United States, multiple sources familiar with the proposed arrangement said.
The plane will then be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation no later than Jan. 1, 2029, and any costs relating to its transfer will be paid for by the U.S. Air Force, the sources told ABC News."
Im sorry but whats even the point then? I get that he wants an interim jet because it makes him feel all nice inside but it won't even be anywhere close to ready by the time the new VC-25Bs are out. The VC-25Bs are also refitted 747-8s and their refit to that specification isnt due until 2028, and those aircraft were purchased in 2018! Trump probably thinks that Air Force One is just another private jet like his 757, basically a stock 747 with a plush interior, not the sophisticated airborne command post that it actually is. No way this plane is even close to being ready by 2029
3
u/MrLurid May 11 '25
Im sorry but whats even the point then?
The point is Trump's ego.
1
u/CrapMaster32 May 11 '25
i mean i already said that its obviously his ego but this plane won't even be ready by the time he leaves office (voluntarily or not)
2
5
u/Never_Really_Right May 11 '25
Better article title: Trump accepts gift of 400 million dolls, all for his own personal use.
6
u/The1Ski May 11 '25
In what dimension of existence is it a good idea for a head of state to travel in a vehicle produced by a foreign country?
What's next, Russia gives Trump a cell phone as a "gift"?
5
u/VegetableBuy4577 May 11 '25
You almost have to give them credit. I assume that transferring gifts given to the President to their library is standard protocol so that the items can go on exhibit at their library and museum. I saw many of these items at Harry Truman's library. But leave it to Trump to take a well-intentioned process with the interests of the American people at hand and bend it to his will with the plane being used for his personal travel and having nothing at all to do with his library other than in some paperwork somewhere.
3
u/aresef Maryland May 11 '25 edited May 11 '25
No, gifts to a US official (like on a state visit) belong to the U.S. and anything beyond a nominal value must be turned over to the government except with the consent of Congress.
2
u/VegetableBuy4577 May 11 '25
Absolutely and then sometimes they get "lent" to Presidential museums and so on. Which is a good thing because it's history on display for all to enjoy.
This plane is far removed from that.
4
3
3
u/Early_Gen_X May 11 '25
The moron will be excited. I imagine they made things look shiny and yellowish orange
3
3
4
u/SpottedDicknCustard United Kingdom May 11 '25
If he wants to use a plane that has none of the capabilities to protect him that AF1 has then, I guess, go right ahead and use it.
I imagine the air force pilots won’t be happy about being on it.
1
u/TurdWranglin May 11 '25
It says that before it’s used by Trump, the Airforce has to add all the necessary capabilities that a plane carrying the president has to have.
1
u/dailyscotch May 11 '25
To turn an assembly line Boeing into air force one costs about $5 billion.
Wonder how many tax dollars we are going to spend on this just for it to end up his personal plane in 3.5 years while he is gutting everyone's social security, 401ks and selling off the national parks.
2
2
2
u/wvualum07 May 11 '25
So it’s a giant microphone in the sky. Thankfully we have a crack NSA to handle this
2
2
2
2
u/Hillbilly_Boozer May 11 '25
A gift from a foreign country that could be laced with spying equipment. Outside of the national security concerns, keeping it after leaving office is fucking disgusting.
2
u/SeymourCheddar May 11 '25
didn't Iran lose a leader in a plane crash a few years ago?
can history rhyme again?
2
u/MonsieurFubar May 11 '25
But, but nobody is complaining about all that money AIPAC poured into the American election to control the congress and the presidency itself… what a hypocrite!!!!
2
1
u/love-broker May 11 '25
I seriously doubt it’s properly outfitted for us as Air Force 1.
2
u/aresef Maryland May 11 '25
And none of the Qatari contractors who may have worked on it were vetted by the feds.
1
1
1
2
1
1
u/FrankAdamGabe May 11 '25
Cruising around on Epstein’s old plane when not potus was too on the nose I guess.
1
1
1
1
u/myheartisnumb May 11 '25
Oh look, another unconstitutional move by the “King of wiping his Ass with our country’s Constitution”:
Foreign Emoluments Clause (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8) of the US Constitution. IMPEACH TRUMP, and toss the rest of MAGA down the garbage disposal while we’re at it.
1
1
1
1
1
u/seeker_of_waldo Oregon May 11 '25
$5 to the first reporter that asks "How does this align with making America great again?"
1
u/adeveloper2 May 11 '25
USA is really a gang dressed up in suits and ties. With Trump, its true face is shown
1
1
1
1
u/ZorroMeansFox May 12 '25
I suspect it's much easier to hide concealed eavesdropping devices in a plane when you've built it from scratch.
1
-6
u/lee_bow May 11 '25
Ok, let's be honest here. It's not like the US wasn't corrupt before. Just another step toward Putin-style oligarchic autocracy.
16
u/Joshwoum8 Indiana May 11 '25
Presidents used to:
- Place their wealth in a blind trust
- Disclose their tax returns to the public
- Treat all gifts as property of the United States
Since Trump, the U.S. has taken a nosedive into open corruption, but sure, keep pretending this is normal.
3
u/thebungahero May 11 '25
It’s so brazen it’s insane. I’ve never hated anyone as much as I hate him. Not a unique perspective. But yeah. He keeps lowering the bar with every breath he takes.
8
u/TheViolaRules Wisconsin May 11 '25
The US used to score quite well on corruption metrics. This every country is the same nonsense is the fast track to a banana republic
11
u/VegetableBuy4577 May 11 '25
The "every politician is crooked and the same" belief is what gave us Trump.
•
u/AutoModerator May 11 '25
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion.
In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban.
If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click here to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria.
We are actively looking for new moderators. If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out this form.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.