Trump takes first flight on luxury Air Force One jet gifted by Qatar as ethics questions mount

Maiden flight and fanfare

President Donald Trump on Wednesday made his first flight aboard the new Air Force One, a heavily modified Boeing 747-8 luxury jet donated by Qatar. Speaking to journalists at Joint Base Andrews before the domestic trip to North Dakota, Trump said he was excited about the flight and that nobody had ever seen anything like it. The president is scheduled to attend an event at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library as part of the 250th anniversary of American independence celebrations. One of the older presidential planes accompanied the flight as a backup.

To be honest with you, I'm excited about the first flight. Nobody's ever seen anything like it.

The Qatari gift and its cost

The aircraft, worth approximately $400 million (€348 million), was accepted as a gift from Qatar in May 2025 and has since undergone major security and luxury upgrades. Trump claimed the modification cost to US taxpayers was "very little relative to what it would cost if we did it a different way", but declined to provide a specific figure. He boasted that the US could not build such a plane because it would not spend the necessary money. The jet will serve as a stopgap until Boeing delivers two new purpose-built Air Force Ones, expected in about two years after delays and cost overruns.

Ethical and legal storm

The donation immediately triggered constitutional and ethical objections. The US Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts from foreign states without congressional consent. To sidestep this, the Qatari "spende" was formally directed to the Department of Defense. Democrats called the arrangement "blatant corruption" and threatened protests in Congress. Critics also raised security concerns about a foreign power owning the blueprints and systems of the presidential aircraft.

Frankly, we couldn't build a plane like this because we wouldn't be willing to spend the kind of money necessary. They spent top dollars.

Crypto disclosure amplifies scrutiny

The maiden flight came one day after financial filings revealed Trump earned roughly $1.2 billion from his family's cryptocurrency ventures in his first year back in power. The coincidence fed into a broader narrative about the president's entanglement with foreign and commercial interests. Trump dismissed any suggestion of impropriety and said the Qatari jet's cost was negligible compared to alternatives.

What comes next

While the donated jet enters active service, Boeing continues work on two purpose-built replacements. Trump has long pushed to modernize the aging fleet, whose existing planes are about 35 years old. The Emir of Qatar, who is also mediating US–Iran talks, had insisted on making the plane a gift rather than a loan, Trump noted.