Last week, it was reported that the Trump Administration had agreed to accept a plane from the royal family of Qatar, which, valued at $400 million, would mark the largest foreign gift to the U.S. government in U.S. history.
President Donald J. Trump has defended the gift, claiming that he’s saving the U.S. government money by accepting a free plane, at one point using a tortured analogy involving golf shots. The plane is meant to be used as the new Air Force One.
Even some of Trump’s biggest loyalists, like Laura Loomer, Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin and some members of Congress, have spoken out against the acceptance of the plane, mostly due to their distrust of Qatar. They have joined the Democrats in criticizing the plane decision.
“Qatar is not allegedly giving President Trump a $400m jet out of the goodness of their sweet little hearts,” Shapiro said, as quoted by The BBC. “They try to stuff money into pockets in totally bipartisan fashion.”
The mostly pro-Trump New York Post, meanwhile, wrote an editorial stating, “Qatar’s ‘Palace in the Sky’ jet is NOT a ‘free gift’ – and Trump shouldn’t accept it as one.”
Leavitt’s Defense
The White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, was asked about the plane and other questionable gifts by the president in a briefing earlier this week.
In a briefing, ahead of Trump’s Middle East trip, Leavitt was asked if Trump planned to meet with anyone with whom he has business ties.
“Let me just get to the premise of the question that both of you have raised,” Leavitt said. “I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit. He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service, not just once, but twice.” She went on to suggest that Trump has “lost money” by running for and serving as president.
Plenty of Luxury
As pointed out on MSNBC’s website by writer Steve Benen, the premise that Trump has given anything up is sort of ridiculous.
“He lives in a presidential mansion, filled with a small army of people who call him ‘sir’ and cater to his every whim, and spends most of his weekends at a glorified country club in Florida, where he’s surrounded by sycophantic supporters who pay handsomely to hang out at a playground for the rich,” Benen writes.
Furthermore, Trump continues to make a huge amount of money from various actions of his presidency, which have made a mockery of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. And the worst one of all might be the memecoin, and its attendant dinner.
$TRUMP
Shortly before his return to the White House, Trump announced the launch of his own memecoin, called $TRUMP. Then, last month, it was revealed that the 220 top holders of the coin were invited to a special dinner. The top 25 holders would get a reception and a White House tour.
A separate MSNBC by the head of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) noted that the watchdog group had tracked 3,700 conflicts of interest from Trump’s first term in office. But the memecoin may be worse than any of the others.
“I’m not sure we ever saw anything as blatant as this meme coin dinner. This is over the top — even for Trump — because while the practice of putting money in his pocket and subsequently gaining access to the presidency is far from new, it is more shameless than it has ever been,” Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, wrote.
“Let’s be explicit about what’s happening here: Trump appears to be auctioning off access to the presidency. The more of his cryptocurrency that people buy, the higher their chances of meeting Trump at his club. And there’s no ambiguity about who is profiting.”
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
