Trump's Qatar-gifted jet plans shift again, leaving its future uncertain
President Donald Trump’s proposed use of the Qatar-donated Boeing 747-8 as a museum piece at his Miami library has been abandoned, according to a text from his son Eric.
Last year the Defense Department accepted a $400 million Boeing 747-8 from Qatar, intending to convert it into a new Air Force One for President Donald Trump and eventually exhibit it at his forthcoming presidential library in Miami. Recent communications reveal that the plan has been scrapped; Eric Trump informed one outlet that the Qatar-gifted aircraft will not be moved to the library, and that a decommissioned Air Force One could take its place instead.
He referenced other presidential libraries that display retired planes, such as Reagan’s. The White House declined to comment beyond a standard praise of the president’s leadership. Norm Eisen, who served as a White House ethics adviser under Barack Obama, said he would not have permitted the president to accept such a gift, calling it a serious ethical concern. The shift leaves the future status of the Qatar jet—whether it will stay in the Air Force fleet after Trump leaves office in 2029 or be repurposed elsewhere—unclear.
Why it matters
The story highlights possible ethical issues surrounding foreign gifts to a sitting president and the uncertain fate of a costly military aircraft.
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