MAGA World Is Not Happy About Trump’s Gift From Qatar

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Some of President Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters are not thrilled about his plan to accept a luxury jet as a gift from Qatari royals to use as Air Force One.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told CNN, “I don’t think another country should be providing America [a plane]. We don’t need that….I think America can afford their own plane and build their own Air Force One.” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told reporters, “It would be better if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America.” And Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told CNBC Tuesday morning that he is “not a fan of Qatar,” adding, “The plane poses significant espionage and surveillance problems.” (Indeed, a Defense Department official told the New York Times it would take “years, not months” to make the necessary security upgrades for the plane.)

Democrats and legal experts have alleged the plan, first reported by ABC News on Sunday, violates the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits any person holding elected office from accepting gifts “from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” Even Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) acknowledged that the gift appears to run afoul of the Emoluments Clause, telling Fox News host Jesse Waters, “There is a provision in the Constitution that says you can’t do this.” Paul also characterized accepting the plane as “a mistake,” adding, “I think it’s not worth the appearance of impropriety.”