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Trump's jet envy could take down the presidency

Chris Brennan   Paste BN

Doesn’t it just figure that Donald Trump’s biggest swing at corrupting the American presidency comes down to a simple case of jet envy?

Trump was visiting Qatar on May 14 and was still quite peeved about the attention he had received for trying to accept the biggest gift from a foreign country in American history – a Boeing 747 jet valued at $400 million. Trump has lusted after the jet, now on offer from the family that rules Qatar, since he toured it in February in Florida.

It’s not exactly breaking news that all things are transactional for Trump. And, while he often pitches this as something he does for our country, all the evidence points to Trump looking out for Trump.

Trump is openly envious of oil-rich Gulf States and the leaders who luxuriate in opulent grandeur, while free to repress anyone in their countries who complains about all that. He grumbled from his office on Air Force One on May 13 about how “much smaller and less impressive” his official jet looks like when parked next to the jets used by Gulf State rulers. 

Posting on social media from Saudi Arabia, the day before arriving in Qatar, Trump again painted this astoundingly inappropriate gift as a cost-saving measure going to America’s Department of Defense, which will use it as a stand-in for Air Force One.

Plenty of problems with all that. 

First, the Department of Defense would have to spend a bundle to make sure the jet meets security standards for a presidential aircraft. It is, after all, coming from a country that Trump derided as a haven for terrorist organizations just eight years ago, just after the first overseas trip of his first term.

Second, Trump now flies on an aircraft that has been in service for decades, through several presidencies. But this gift he wants to take with him when he leaves office. He claims it will go to his presidential library and that he won’t use it for personal travel. Any American with a pulse can recall a time when Trump made such a pledge and then did just what he pleased in the end.

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This is the part of American democracy where Congress should weigh in, since the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clause clearly says a president can’t accept gifts like this without “the consent of Congress.”

But – what – do you really think U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson would dare to stand up to Trump? Johnson on May 14 literally said the responsibility set to him by the Constitution “is not my lane.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is clearly uncomfortable with the gifted jet, as are a handful of loud-mouthed MAGA influencers. But, ask yourself, do you really think Trump cares about their level of comfort more than a nice luxury jet?

Pam Bondi, named by Trump as attorney general, has signed off on the gifted jet, calling it totally legal. Not much of a surprise since Bondi, before joining Team Trump, was a lobbyist in a firm charging Qatar $115,000 per month to represent that country’s interests in Washington.

Bondi, you might recall, was attorney general in Florida when Trump first ran for office in 2016. Her office was investigating his educational scam, Trump University, which eventually cost him a $25 million national settlement. But not in the Florida investigation, which Bondi dropped after Trump gave her a $25,000 campaign contribution.

I said all things with Trump are transactional. I didn’t say he was the only politician who operated like that.

Anyway, Trump’s family businesses are flourishing during – and thanks to – his second term as president. His son Eric, earlier this month, announced plans for “a world-class 18-hole Trump International Golf Course, a Trump Golf Clubhouse, and approximately high-end branded villas” in, of all places, Qatar.

Trump owns his own personal plane. But that plane is as old as the two Air Force One jets now at his disposal. And he’s going to need a way to get to his golf course in Qatar once his second term comes to an end.

If that violates our Constitution and makes an American president look like he’s totally for sale to the highest bidder, at least he’ll arrive at ignominy in comfort.

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