When the news broke last week that Donald Trump was poised to accept a superluxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar, some of the relevant players made clear that the plans had not yet been finalized. In fact, a spokesperson for Qatar’s government referred to the “possible transfer” of the aircraft, adding that “no decision has been made.”
A week later, however, it’s apparently a done deal. The New York Times reported:
The United States has accepted a 747 jetliner as a gift from the government of Qatar, and the Air Force has now been asked to figure out a way to rapidly upgrade it so it can be put into use as a new Air Force One for President Trump, a Defense Department spokesman confirmed Wednesday.
Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement, “The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations. The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.”
The Times’ report added that the Defense Department “has not given an estimate of when the work on the Qatari plane might be done, even though Mr. Trump and the White House have made clear the president wants it soon, perhaps even by the end of the year.”
What the president “wants” is likely to prove irrelevant: NBC News recently reported that converting the luxury jet will “take years to complete.”
Indeed, it’s worth emphasizing that the administration’s decision to accept the Qatari “gift” doesn’t end the controversy; it starts the controversy.








