President Donald Trump’s plan to accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family has led to an uproar among ethics experts, Democrats and even some Republicans. But some of the loudest criticism has come from his most fervent MAGA supporters.
On his podcast Monday, The Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro pointed to Qatar’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, saying that accepting a gift from the royal family is “not America First.”
If you want President Trump to succeed, this kind of skeezy stuff needs to stop.
BEN SHAPIRO
“Is this good for President Trump, is it good for his agenda? Is it good for draining the swamp and getting things done? The answer is no, it isn’t,” Shapiro said. “It isn’t. If you want President Trump to succeed, this kind of skeezy stuff needs to stop.”
He added: “I think if we switched the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we’d all be freaking out on the right.”
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer, who has had direct access to Trump, wrote a series of posts criticizing the gift.
“I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him,” she wrote on X on Sunday. “But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits.”
Fox News host Mark Levin shared Loomer’s post, adding: “Ditto.”
Loomer, however, also tempered some of her criticism with effusive praise for the president. “It will be a stain, but he is still the best President of my lifetime,” she wrote on X on Monday. First reported by ABC News, the super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet — which is estimated to be valued at $400 million — from Qatar is expected to be converted for use as Air Force One. The overhaul would take years and a potentially hefty price tag, along with a host of security concerns, according to aviation and intelligence experts who spoke with NBC News. Meanwhile, Trump has defended his decision to accept the plane, calling it “a great gesture from Qatar” and suggesting it was too good an offer to pass up on. “I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” he said Monday when pressed about the deal. “I mean, I could be a stupid person [and] say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’” On his podcast Monday, The Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro pointed to Qatar’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, saying that accepting a gift from the royal family is “not America First.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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