Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Qatar luxury jet is 'gift to the American government'

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed Sunday the criticism President Trump has received over his plan to accept a $400 million luxury jet from the Qatari royal family.

Mr. Bessent said there is no element of quid pro quo, suggesting Mr. Trump does not plan to keep the plane when he leaves the White House.

“The French gave us the Statue of Liberty. The British gave us the Resolute Desk,” Mr. Bessent said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I am not sure they ask for anything in advance.”

‘I think this plane would be a gift to the American government,” he said.

Mr. Bessent said more attention should be given to the news that the Trump administration helped aviation manufacturer Boeing secure an agreement to sell up to 210 aircraft to Qatar Airways.

“This is the biggest order in the company’s history,” he said. “I think that plane deal is much more important than this one.”

Mr. Trump’s three-nation swing through the Middle East featured many opulent receptions and the announcement of business deals that the president said stretched into the trillions of dollars.

The White House said the Boeing deal was worth $96 billion.

Meanwhile, before the trip, Mr. Trump announced he would accept a luxury jet from the royal family of Qatar that would be retrofitted to replace Air Force One during his second term.

The announcement sparked fierce blowback from Democrats and some Republicans.

“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a gift, free of charge, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, temporarily in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the crooked Democrats that they insist we pay top dollar, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!! MAGA,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social.

Mr. Trump also said Qatar offered the plane “as a contribution to our Defense Department,” calling it “a great gesture.”

“I could be stupid person and say ’oh, no we don’t want a free plane,’” Mr. Trump said last week. “It helps us out because again we have 40-year aircraft. The money we spend to keep those planes tippy-top is astronomical. You wouldn’t even believe it.”

“The plane is not a gift to the American people, as the secretary said, it is going directly to Donald Trump,” Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “That library will take a decade to build. So once he leaves the White House, until the library is built, he gets to use that plane to fly around all of his billionaire friends while his policies result in millions of Americans losing their healthcare and having to pay higher costs.” 

“That is the definition of corruption,” Mr. Murphy said.

According to multiple media reports, the plan is for the plane, a Boeing 747-8, to serve as Air Force One during Mr. Trump’s second term before being donated to his presidential library after he leaves office, ensuring he can continue using it.

However, Mr. Trump told reporters he would not use it after he leaves office but instead would keep it at his presidential library.

On Sunday, former Vice President Mike Pence said Mr. Trump should rethink accepting the gift, warning that Qatar has financially supported Hamas and al Qaeda.

“The very idea that we would accept an Air Force One from Qatar, I think, is inconsistent with our security, with our intelligence needs,” Mr. Pence said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “My hope is the president reconsiders it.”

“I think if Qatar wants to make a gift to the United States, they ought to take that $400 million and plow it into infrastructure on our military base,” he said.

• Jeff Mordock contributed to this report.