The press reports the possibility that Donald Trump accepts a gift from Qatar: a new plane, which would act as a new generation Air Force One. A gift that could come in the coming days, but which raises ethical and legal questions, and causes computer security and espionage issues.
“” I wonder how many listening devices will be integrated into it. “” ” It is the biggest threat to national security that I have heard since yesterday. “” ” Clear and ostentatious corruption is crazy. These comments are a part of the reactions found on the net And which sums up the general feeling that has grasped many Internet users since May 12.
It is in response to the article published this day by ABC News that these messages flowed online. The American media reports that the Trump administration is ready to accept the “palace in the sky” offered to Donald Trump by Qatar, according to his sources. In this case, the palace in question is a Boeing 747-8, particularly luxurious-a splendor airplane to which the businessman is very sensitive.
This perspective was partially accepted by the American president, in a message Released via his account on Truth Social, shortly before the publication of the article by ABC News:
“” The fact that the Ministry of Defense receives as a gift, free of charge, a 747 plane to temporarily replace the Air Force One, 40 years old, as part of a very public and transparent transaction, disturbs the crooked Democrats so much that they insist that we pay the plane at a high price. Anyone can do that! Democrats are world -class losers !!! Maga »»
According to ABC News, Donald Trump already visited the plane in February 2025 when he was at Palm Beach International Airport, Florida. It turns out that it is barely distant 5 km from Mar-A-Lago, one of the properties of the current tenant of the White House, in which he often goesto do golf in particular. The nickname “flying palace” associated with 747 comes from its interior decoration, described as very sumptuous.
This plane offered could be accepted during a trip of the president to the Gulf, to meet the leaders of the Emirate, but also of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in the coming days. This tour would also be the first official trip of Donald Trump abroad during his second term, except for the round trip to Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
Ethical, legal and security issues
Your data deserve to be better protected.
Sociations, viruses and ransomware are no longer inevitable. Protect your privacy and personal data with Bitdefender and enjoy your digital life with confidence.
Across the Atlantic, this gesture from the royal family Qatari is already starting to create important eddies. Above all, he raises important ethical, legal and computer security questions as well as exposure to spying. It is also on these last two issues that the journalist and historian GARRETT M. GRAFFalso an expert in cybersecurity at the Aspen Institute, supports Bluesky.
“” Let me tell you: the idea that the commander-in-chief of the United States takes the plane of a foreign government is a real nightmare in terms of security. It is not for nothing that the United States is the only country in the world to provide its leader from its own helicopters abroad “, he wrote. Ditto for armored cars: in this area, it is Made in USA which takes precedence, and everything is closely monitored and protected.
Although produced by Boeing, the American aeronautical giant, ABC News observes that the device will have been in fact in the hands of a foreign power for thirteen years. A situation that has enough to raise questions, given the wishes of the White House to use it as a new Air Force-of the name of the indicative designating the plane in which the Head of State is located.
However, before transporting Trump, the aircraft would first arrive in the hands of the US Air Force, for ” that he meets the required American military specifications For Air Force One, continue our colleagues. In hollow, we guess that intensive checks will be carried out in each corner to neutralize, if necessary, any espionage device, posed by Qatar or another power having succeeded.
This “gift” also poses questions on a more ethical level, because some fear that this will place the president in an uncomfortable posture, under a certain influence of Qatar or making him liable to the royal family. In any case, this case occurs at a time when a controversy agitated in the Arabian peninsula, with the possibility that Trump renames the Persian Gulf in the Gulf of Arabia, What annoys Iran.
The legality of this transfer of ownership is also debated and disputed, given the supposed value of the aircraft-this one would exceed $ 400 million, which would make it the most expensive gift in the history of the United States. In principle, the Clause on foreign emolumentsinscribed in the American Constitution, forbidden to receive gifts from foreign powers, in order to prevent corrupting foreign influences.
Already, it appears that the legal teams working for the American executive believe that there is an opening to legalize the case. It would be the Ministry of Defense which would receive the plane during the Trump presidency, and which would be responsible for it, before its transfer to the foundation which will be responsible for the presidential library. Thus, the billionaire would not be directly in violation of the Constitution.
The Air Force One replacement is delayed
Currently, the American presidential fleet has two Boeing 747-200 type line planes, a model that made its debut in 1972, more than fifty years ago-the Air Force versions, however, made their debut in 1990. There is a plan to replace these two aircraft by Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which started their careers in 2010, less than fifteen years ago.
However, Boeing is entangled in the difficulties (the Boeing 737 Max affair and, to a lesser extent, the concerns of the Starliner capsule). The aircraft manufacturer, late on its schedule, will not be able to convert the devices (already built) in time so that Donald Trump can fly with his second term. Boeing had signed a deal in 2018 in the amount of $ 3.9 billion to deliver them in 2026 and 2027.
It is now a question a delivery to 2029, or even beyond. On this date, the current tenant of the White House will not be in principle in power and he will therefore not have stolen in the new Air Force One. A postponement which would frustrate it and which would therefore explain this desire to switch to another Boeing 747-8 already “available”, notwithstanding the essential time to carry out all the transformations and all the adequate arrangements.
!
