EDITORIAL: President Donald Trump has been getting a lot of business deals done with three rich Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, deciding to skip Israel on this visit to the Middle East — unusual for an American president.
On his first stop in Riyadh, he secured a USD 600 billion investment pledge, and also accepted a USD 400 million luxury plane as a gift from Qatar, which has ignited heated debate about ethical and conflict of interest issues. “This is not just naked corruption,” said Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer in a speech the same day, “it is also a grave national security threat.”
In addition to expressing concern about the jet itself, and the cost of any modification required, the senior senator from New York took issue with Qatar. He demanded that Attorney General Pam Bondi, who once served as a lobbyist for the Qatari government, testify before Congress to explain her approval of the gift. Another Democratic senator, Chris Murphy, threatened to force votes to block weapons sales to Qatar.
Although almost the entire Congress is beholden to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) for its electoral campaign finance — in return for unqualified support of Israel — Trump critics are right to reference American constitution’s Emoluments Clause that prohibits government officials from accepting gifts from any foreign state.
The Qatari plane, though, is not a personal gift for Trump but a government-to-government offering made, apparently, because he was known to be unhappy with the current customised two Air Force One jets that entered service way back in 1990 during the time of president George H. W. Bush.
Trump supporters may also argue this is no different from individuals or foreign governments making investment in American businesses or infrastructure. In any event, it should worry his people only if the president flies this 747-8 jumbo jet home at the end of his term in office. The problem though is not the gift, but how it plays into larger tensions in the region.
Qatar is home to the largest US military base in the Middle East. It also stands out among the Gulf Arab states for lending support to the Palestinian cause, which puts it at odds with Israel. Its international news channel, Al Jazeera, which broadcasts meticulously recorded details of Palestinian lives lost in Israel’s relentless genocidal campaign in Gaza, is banned in the Jewish state; and its West Bank offices have been forced to shut out.
But Qatar, a strategic partner of the US, has also been providing Washington with facilitative assistance in crisis situations. It hosted the US-Taliban peace deal, and has more recently been anchoring indirect contacts — whatever their worth — between Hamas and Israel. President Trump, a transactional leader, is happy to see Qatar and other wealthy Arab states make hefty investments in the US and tightening ties with it, which seems to be the key reason the plane gift from Qatar has rattled the Israeli lobby and its beneficiaries so much.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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