Trump poised to accept Qatar jet gift as Air Force One

Trump poised to accept Qatar jet gift as Air Force One


U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One for travel back to Washington, D.C., at Palm Beach International Airport, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. May 4, 2025.

Leah Millis | Reuters

President Donald Trump is preparing to accept a luxury jet from the royal family of Qatar, which he will use as Air Force One, four sources familiar with the planning confirmed to NBC News.

The plane, a Boeing 747-8 jet, is set to be transferred to Trump’s presidential library foundation at the conclusion of his second White House term, two sources confirmed to NBC.

The administration will retrofit the plane so it can be used in Trump’s official capacity as president.

The lavish gift is likely to raise questions from legal scholars and experts surrounding the legality of the move.

Read more CNBC politics coverage

A new commercial Boeing 747-800 costs roughly $400 million, according to data from 2019, the most recent year for which data is publicly available.

The White House and Department of Justice did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

ABC News first reported on the plans.

Reports of the move comes as Trump is set to travel to the Middle East this week, including a stop in Qatar, for the first foreign trip of his second term.

Trump struck a deal during his first term to modernize two Boeing 747s to be used as the new Air Force One aircraft. But the fixed-price contract with Boeing has gone more than $2 billion over budget amid repeated delays. The planes may not be completed until at least 2027.

Trump this year expressed frustration over the Boeing delays and said he was weighing alternatives.

“We may buy a plane or get a plane, or something,” he said in February, according to a Reuters report at the time, while touring a Qatari 747 at Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in January that the company was working with DOGE lead and key Trump ally Elon Musk on delivering the planes sooner.

CNBC reported earlier this month that the U.S. was working with L3Harris Technologies to modify a used Qatari Boeing 747 to possibly become a new U.S. presidential plane.

NBC News contributed reporting.



Source

Murdoch to provide Trump health updates in deal to delay Epstein case deposition
Politics

Murdoch to provide Trump health updates in deal to delay Epstein case deposition

U.S. President Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch. Kevin Lamarque | Ricky Carioti | Via Reuters Conservative media baron Rupert Murdoch will give President Donald Trump regular updates on his health as part of an agreement to postpone Murdoch’s deposition in Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against him over a Wall Street Journal article about late […]

Read More
U.S. trade deficit hits a nearly 2-year low in June; China gap plunges
Politics

U.S. trade deficit hits a nearly 2-year low in June; China gap plunges

A ferry passenger looks at a cargo ship full of shipping containers at the port of Oakland, California, U.S., August 4, 2025. Carlos Barria | Cb The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in June on a sharp drop in consumer goods imports, and the trade gap with China shrank to its lowest in more than 21 […]

Read More
Trump says new semiconductor tariff plan coming as soon as next week
Politics

Trump says new semiconductor tariff plan coming as soon as next week

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will unveil new tariffs on semiconductors and chips as soon as next week. “We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips, which is a separate category, because we want them made in the United States,” Trump said during a lengthy interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Trump said that […]

Read More