A Boeing 747 belonging to Qatar for Donald Trump sits on the tarmac of Palm Beach International Airport
President Trump has accepted a $400 million luxury jet as a gift from the ruling royal family of Qatar, and he is trying to justify it. He aims to take it home when he leaves the office. It is a graft that smells to the high heavens. That is the fact!
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the US Constitution, also known as the Foreign Emoluments Clause, prohibits any person holding any Office in the federal government from accepting gifts, emoluments, offices, or titles from foreign powers without Congressional consent. This clause is designed to prevent foreign influence and corruption of US officials. However, in a serious violation, President Trump has accepted a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet gift from a foreign power, Qatar, in his second term, in addition to over 3,400 acts of conflict of interest during his first term.
Past presidents have been restricted from accepting extravagant gifts like lions or horses, so how can anyone justify Trump’s accepting a lavish jet from Qatar?
In 1839, the Sultan of Oman sought to present President Martin Van Buren with an extraordinary gift of two live lions, horses, pearls, and other valuable treasures. When the gifts arrived, Van Buren, guided by the U.S. Constitution, formally consulted Congress to navigate this ethical dilemma. This act reinforced the principle that even the highest office must adhere to standards of accountability and transparency. Van Buren concluded: “I deem it my duty to lay the proposition before Congress for such disposition as they may think fit to make of it …”
In response, Congress firmly stated that keeping the gifts was illegal. As a result, they relocated the lions to a zoo for public viewing, sold the horses to ensure proper use of the resources, and directed the monetary proceeds into the U.S. Treasury for the nation’s benefit. The exquisite pearls were also donated to the Smithsonian, enriching the country’s cultural heritage.
Since the 1970s, most presidents before Donald Trump have placed their assets, excluding basic holdings like residences and diversified mutual funds, into blind trusts. The exception to this practice includes President Nixon, who liquidated his modest assets to buy two houses, and President Obama, whose family’s wealth was invested in U.S. treasury bonds and mutual funds managed by a third party, precluding his control and influence in growing the assets.
In President Trump’s first term, over 3,400 acts of conflict of interest were recorded against him, from using his official role to promote his private businesses to hosting foreign officials at his Washington, D.C., hotel. Government officials from six foreign countries collectively spent over $750,000 at Trump’s private companies, including pushing through trademarks for his family businesses, among many other acts of corruption.
While working in the White House, Ivanka Trump solicited and obtained numerous trademarks from China for her private business. Her husband, Jared Kushner, who was involved in implementing Trump’s Middle East policy, secured a $2 billion investment for his private equity firm, receiving funding from Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Additionally, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. launched a bitcoin mining firm that went public, which their father, President Donald Trump, has publicly promoted from the Oval Office.
Whatever happened to Republicans draining the swamps?
For many years, Republicans have persistently pursued Hunter Biden, attempting to connect his business practices to his father, President Biden, in a bid to prosecute him politically. Under Trump’s administration, Republicans have lost their sense of decency and patriotism. They intentionally overlook Trump’s wrongdoing in office because they fear losing primary elections. Republicans are oblivious to the Trump family breaking all ethics rules, and sometimes almost straying into criminality.
Many Republicans persist in their support for Trump, even as he readies to accept a lavish private jet from Qatar—a clear violation of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The GOP is no longer the party of law and order.
In hindsight, it’s remarkable to consider how Republicans would have reacted if President Obama had accepted a $400 million Boeing 747-8 from a foreign government or had promoted private business interests in the Oval Office. Individuals lacking personal character and integrity do not deserve to be leaders in a civilized society.
During Donald Trump’s first term in office, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit against him for violating the Constitution’s emoluments clause. On April 18, 2017, CREW amended the complaint to include plaintiffs from the hotel and restaurant industries. On May 10, 2017, it filed a second amended complaint, which the U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels subsequently dismissed because the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the case.
However, upon appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the dismissal, reinstated the lawsuit, and sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings. In January 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the lower courts to dismiss the case as moot since Trump was no longer president. Consequently, the Supreme Court did not address the alleged emoluments clause violations against Trump during the case.
With Trump back in office, still disregarding the Constitution, the potential for an emoluments clause violation involving Trump could be revisited in the courts.
Trump’s Emoluments Clause Violation in his Second Term
During his time away from the presidency, Trump has built extensive business ventures, including collaborations with foreign governments. He owns a majority stake in the social media platform Truth Social, which has gone public and allows foreign entities to trade its stock. Trump has promoted private interests, such as cryptocurrency and Tesla, from the Oval Office—actions that compromise the integrity of the presidency.
Since taking office, many influential tech moguls, concerned about Trump’s unpredictable behavior, offered support. Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual and a key financier of Trump’s campaign, joined his administration as a special government employee.
Illustration by USN&WR | Source: Getty Images
Trump has filled his cabinet with powerful business tycoons with significant conflicts of interest, raising serious questions about their commitment to public welfare. Take Elon Musk, for example; he has secured a multibillion-dollar federal contract while simultaneously dismantling crucial agencies and arbitrarily firing employees without cause. The current Attorney General, Pam Bondi, has a troubling history of lobbying for Qatar, earning over $100,000 a month before entering Trump’s administration. Furthermore, Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, has used his platform to promote Tesla stock on national television, further blurring the lines between public service and personal profit. This pattern of self-interest among cabinet members suggests a troubling disregard for the public good.
In addition to selling Bibles, sneakers, and guitars, Trump and his two sons ventured into the cryptocurrency market. According to Forbes Magazine, published on March 31, 2025, and updated on April 1, 2025, about a year ago, President Trump had approximately $413 million in cash on his balance sheet, alongside a $454 million fraud judgment against him in New York State. After he signed an executive order that deregulated cryptocurrency, the scheme generated an estimated $390 million, roughly $245 million after taxes, boosting Trump’s wealth significantly. Within just one year of taking office in January 2025, his net worth increased from $2.3 billion to $5.1 billion.
President Trump called the Qatari luxury jet a “great gesture,” and said: “I could be a stupid person and say, oh, no, we don’t want a free plane … We give free things out. We’ll take one, too.”
The president cannot pull the wool over our eyes; we are not naïve. Nothing in life is truly free. Qatar gave him the $400 million luxury jet because it’s about corruption and trying to gain favor—the Qataris have either gotten or are expecting something from President Trump, plain and simple.
Forbes Magazine called President Trump “the greatest salesman in American history.” He managed to sell his way to the presidency, not once, but twice, even though most Americans knew he was dishonest and untrustworthy of that office.
The interior of Boeing’s 747 -8 jumbo passenger jet features LED lighting and sculpted ceilings.
Trump Organization and Qatari relationship
Why should an American president accept a private jet as a gift from the ruling royal family of Qatar for official duties when the U.S., as a superpower and the wealthiest nation on Earth, can afford its own?
During his first term, President Trump was notably critical of Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism. However, the Trump family has formed a business relationship with Qatar, a development that could have significant implications. Reports indicate that Eric Trump struck a deal with the state-owned Qatari Diar and its Saudi Arabian partner, Da Global, to develop the new Trump International Golf Club north of Doha, Qatar’s capital.
Under Pam Bondi, the U.S. Department of Justice compromised on the issue, as the Attorney General acquiesced to the Aircraft gift to Trump. Pam Bondi, who has behaved as Trump’s lawyer, reportedly made more than $100,000 a month lobbying for Qatar before joining Trump’s cabinet. Anyone can connect the dots.
What we have predicted about Donald Trump has become a reality. He ran for president again, not out of a genuine desire to serve the country, but to evade prison and amass even greater wealth. And that’s precisely the agenda he is pursuing. In the next midterm elections, Americans need to change leadership in Congress to save our country.
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Nicholas A. Owoyemi, CFA
Moderate Voices of America (MVA)
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