‘Doesn't Seem Right’: GOP Sen. Rand Paul Questions Trump's Luxury Jet Gift

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) raised concerns about Donald Trump’s reported plans to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar to serve as Air Force One, suggesting he pay for it instead.

“I don’t think it looks good or smells good,” Paul said of the offer on Monday, laying out the potential conflicts of interest involved with the president of the United States accepting such a lavish gift from a foreign nation known for seeking to influence policy in the Middle East.

“It just doesn’t seem right,” the Kentucky Republican told HuffPost. “We make decisions on troops there. I mean, there’s just a lot of foreign policy decisions. And I think people will think that it could possibly sway your decision-making process when you’ve gotten a ride on it every day, and it’s a really nice plane or something.”

ABC News reported over the weekend that Trump planned to retrofit the Boeing 747-8 airplane, referred to as a “palace in the sky,” from the government of Qatar and use it as his presidential plane until near the end of his term, upon which it would then be turned over to Trump’s future presidential library. According to the outlet, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi cleared the legality of the deal despite previously working as a high-paid lobbyist for Qatar.

Trump defended his decision to accept the jet earlier on Monday, maintaining it would be “stupid” for him to turn it down despite blistering criticism from ethics experts, congressional Democrats, and even some allies of the president.

“I could be a stupid person and say, ‘Oh no, we don’t want a free plane.’ We give free things out, we’ll take one too. And, it helps us out because … we have 40-year-old aircraft,” Trump said Monday morning, referring to Air Force One.

“So, I think it’s a great gesture from Qatar, I appreciate it very much,” he added. “I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane,’ but I thought it was a great gesture.”

Not everyone is convinced, however. Republicans who have questioned the relationship between Qatar and Hamas, particularly since Hamas’ attack on Israel, warned the deal would stain Trump’s presidency if he accepted.

“I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him,” Laura Loomer, one of Trump’s closest allies, said in a post on social media. “But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits.”

Conservative radio host Ben Shapiro noted that Trump and Republicans would be going ballistic if former President Joe Biden or his son Hunter had agreed to a similar proposition.

“Taking sacks of goodies from people who support Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Jazeera, all the rest — that’s not America First!... I think inherently it is bad,” Shapiro said Monday. “I do not think this is good. I think if we switched the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we’d all be freaking out on the right.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are planning to try and force a vote in the Senate later this week on a measure condemning the reported gift due to questions about foreign influence, national security and its legality. The U.S. Constitution, they note, specifically forbids anyone holding government office from accepting any present, emolument, office or title from any “King, Prince, or foreign State,” without congressional consent.

Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) announced they would seek a vote on a measure condemning the gift over questions about foreign influence and national security.

“The Constitution is clear: elected officials, like the president, cannot accept large gifts from foreign governments without consent from Congress. Air Force One is more than just a plane — it’s a symbol of the presidency and of the United States itself,” the senators said in a joint statement on Monday.

Schatz told HuffPost it defied common sense for a president to accept such a gift and expect not to be influenced in some way.

“You do not want the American president to have divided loyalties, and it’s impossible to imagine that a president who received a $400 million consideration wouldn’t be inclined to be thankful,” he said.