So the U.S. government accepted the luxurious jet offered by Qatar to serve as Air Force 1, the President’s official airplane.
The New York Times published a lengthy story –“the inside story”–of Trump’s longing to accept the jet as a gift from the government of Qatar. It explains that the Qataris had been trying to sell the opulent jet for five years, with no success.
Trump wants an opulent jet, even if it is a used jet. He thinks the U.S. should have the biggest airplane for its president. The Qataris flew the jet to Palm Beach, so he could personally inspect it. He fell in love with it. He always falls for gold trappings. He thought there was no problem accepting a gift from another nation. Who would turn down a “free” gift?
The inside story begins:
President Trump wanted a quick solution to his Air Force One problem.
The United States signed a $3.9 billion contract with Boeing in 2018 for two jets to be used as Air Force One, but a series of delays had slowed the work far past the 2024 delivery deadline, possibly beyond Mr. Trump’s second term.
Now Mr. Trump had to fly around in the same old planes that transported President George H.W. Bush 35 years ago. It wasn’t just a vanity project. Those planes, which are no longer in production, require extensive servicing and frequent repairs, and officials from both parties, reaching back a decade or more, had been pressing for replacements.
Mr. Trump, though, wanted a new plane while he was still in office. But how?
“We’re the United States of America,” Mr. Trump said this month. “I believe that we should have the most impressive plane.”
The story of how the Trump administration decided that it would accept a free luxury Boeing 747-8 from Qatar to serve as Air Force One involved weeks of secret coordination between Washington and Doha. The Pentagon and the White House’s military office swung into action, and Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steven Witkoff, played a key role.
Aeronautical experts say that it would cost as much as $1 billion to renovate the jet and give it the security of an Air Force 1. It might not be ready until the end of Trump’s term, when (they said) it would be retired to the Trump Library.
The story failed to mention the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits the President or other federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign nations.
The emoluments clause, also called the foreign emoluments clause, is a provision of the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 8) that generally prohibits federal officeholders from receiving any gift, payment, or other object or service of value from a foreign state or its rulers, officers, or representatives. The clause provides that:
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
The Constitution also contains a “domestic emoluments clause” (Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 7), which prohibits the president from receiving any “Emolument” from the federal government or the states beyond “a Compensation” for his “Services” as chief executive.
I have so far not seen a story that explains that the gift is unconstitutional, unless Congress gives its consent.
I think we have become so accustomed to Trump ignoring and violating the Constitution that it isn’t even worth mentioning. This is a classic demonstration of the Overton Window.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Anytime I see Maggie Haberman’s byline on an “inside story”, I already know that I am going to get Trump talking points presented as “news”, reported uncritically except with a couple of disclaimers that defensive NYT reporter/sycophants like Eric Lipton believe is critical reporting that (it is true) can be found between the right wing narratives if you look hard enough and don’t mind that the entire narrative of the story is framed the way Trump wants.
As NYT “reporter” Eric Lipton informs readers in his comments: “Donald J. Trump is right to be frustrated with Boeing that it has had so many snafus that have delayed the delivery of the two 747-8 jets that will be designed when POTUS flies on them as Air Force One.”
The NYT frames this entire story beginning with this supposedly indisputable “truth” (which is actually just a right wing narrative presented as truth to manipulate what is “debatable” to NYT reporters)
The articles very first sentence tells readers that it is an indisputable fact that Donald Trump has an Air Force One problem (because of Boeing) and Donald Trump is acting to solve that problem. The one truth that is not debatable (according to the NYT) is set out in the first 3 paragraphs – Trump is working to solve a very real problem that Boeing created.
That’s the framing. The rest of the article is a he said she said about whether Trump’s solution to this very serious problem is good or not. It’s a he said she said story about how Trump did this because of Boeing’s delay (as if this caused a very serious problem that Trump was rightly addressing). That why the story is NOT about Emoluments.
The fact that there are plenty of better ways to solve that problem without acting unconstitutionally that Trump won’t do because he wants to spend taxpayer money on a plane he can take with him is NOT the narrative here. The fact that there is no urgency to solving this made up problem of a delay is not the narrative.
The narrative of this story is that Trump had a valid problem with Boeing and this qatari jet is one possible way to fix it, and maybe this way is problematic because it will still cost money and some partisans certainly think so.
Eric Lipton believes that is hard-hitting anti-Trump reporting. It is these cowardly NYT reporters who have become so accustomed to Trump ignoring and violating the Constitution that they justify ignoring it by saying it isn’t newsworthy.
What IS newsworthy to NYT reporters is that Trump needed a new plane because of Boeing’s serious problems and the NYT is proudly giving the “inside story” (from their Trump sources) on how Trump got this offer of a new plane that some people think is a good idea and some people think is a bad idea.
NYT comments that are responses to NYT reporter Eric Lipton’s comments about his own story are far better than the article itself:
@Eric Lipton Your article failed to connect the dots on one important fact. As I commented:
The math is simple. Let’s say the two Boeing 747-8 being built will cost $2 billion each. And the retrofit of the Qatari 747-8 costs $1 billion. The two planes will fly for 25 years while this Qatari one will fly for one or two years. Someone should ask Mr. Art of the Deal which is the better deal for taxpayers?
@Eric Lipton Why, in the reporting on your results of this investigation do you all ignore the Unlawful, Unconstitutional, and Anti-Constitutional specifics of the story?
I recognize that The People have been met by stone wall after stone wall in the court system in the attempts to prosecute Trump and his cronies for his crimes and Anti-Constitutional behavior, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying or ever take our eyes off the ball. And I think it should be taken as a primary duty for NYTimes journalists to accurately report the potential illegal and Unconstitutional behavior of the Executive Branch.
This is not just a minor or softball question of ethics. It is a hardball question about flagrant disregard and purposeful defiance of the plain words of the Law and Constitution in the interest of personal enrichment against every interest of The Nation and The American People.
@Tin Man You are so right! We should focus on the fact that accepting this airplane is blatantly unconstitutional; the rest of this is irrelevant, distracting blather!
@Eric Lipton Trump wants a free luxury jet to keep. There is no Boeing problem.
There is a Trump problem.
@Eric Lipton Why is Trump “right to be frustrated” that the new Air Force Ones aren’t ready? The planes aren’t owed to him—and if he hadn’t won the election, he wouldn’t have had any claim to them at all. Delays in government and nongovernment contracts are common, and this seems no different. Even refurbishing a jet gifted by Qatar could face setbacks.
We have the absurdity of the NYT parsing whether or not it could or could not be a good idea for Trump to address the “very serious non-debatable issue” of Boeing’s failure and the indisputable urgent need for a new Air Force One the way that Trump and his sycophants say is best.
The NYT is always ready to give its stamp of legitimacy to whatever serious “urgent” issue the right wing invents to justify their spurning of law and authoritarian takeover.
Inflation!!!! The bad economy!!!! (but only under Biden – those are no longer a problem and will never be while Trump/Republicans rule) Violent criminals coming through the borders! Rooting out waste and fraud! Desperate need for a new Air Force One because of Boeing’s failures!
Instead of writing articles about how these narratives are lies that Trump uses to take unconstitutional actions that do NOT address those problems, the NYT writes articles like this one where the first 3 paragraphs tell the story. Boeing did something bad and failed to deliver and Trump is solving a problem. Maybe it’s not the best way to solve the problem, but it is a LEGITIMATE way to solve the problem.
Every NYT story about DOGE was exactly the same. DOGE was there to deal with the very real problem of rooting out waste and fraud, the premise the NYT never questioned. Thus, these were good, qualified people working to do something good and necessary. Just like Trump is working to do something necessary because of Boeing’s failure to deliver a new Air Force One on time.
Whether or not they agree with the action, the NYT will always give Trump’s actions the stamp of legitimacy, no matter how outrageous.
That’s why Lipton mentions Boeing’s “failures” in the opening paragraphs and in his comments. That is the absurd justification that the NYT apparently believes makes this story something other than an unconstitutional action. Boeing didn’t deliver on time. The NYT emphasizes that Trump’s motives are good! Or at worst, “debatable” because some partisans whose criticisms are frequently mischaracterized challenge them.
Just like every story about DOGE was framed as DOGE was there to solve the very serious problem of rooting out waste and fraud. DOGE’s motives were always good, and the only allowable debate was whether in their pursuit of their very admirable goal they were making good decisions, or sometimes making unintentional errors.
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Fo I correctly understand that we are going to spend a billion dollars on this gift and then retire it? Why not just hire Aaron Rogers. He has about that much left, and is cheaper.
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wordpress being wordpress
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If you want to see why that 747 has been called “The Flying Palace” click on the link below.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14673127/amp/trump-air-force-one-boeing-qatar.html
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The gift is a blatant violation of the Emoluments clause of the Constitution.
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