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TRUMP’S administration is reportedly set to accept the most expensive gift ever given to the United States by a foreign power.
The Qatari royal family is offering a $400million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet – described as a “palace in the sky” – to the U.S. Government.
Sources told ABC News the jet would be made available for Donald Trump to use as Air Force One during his second term in office.
The ultra-luxury aircraft is expected to be announced as a formal gift next week when Trump visits Qatar, the insiders claimed.
Trump personally toured the jet back in February while it was parked at West Palm Beach International Airport.
If accepted, the 13-year-old aircraft would first be transferred to the U.S. Air Force.
It would be outfitted with top-tier communications and security tech before taking flight with the president on board.
Ownership of the plane would then pass to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation by January 1, 2029, according to ABC’s sources.
That handover – along with all associated costs – will reportedly be handled by the U.S. Air Force.
The main aircraft used in the current Air Force One fleet includes two Boeing 747-200 jumbo jets.
They have been operational since 1990 and are said to be not up to scratch compared to modern jets.
But the Air Force contract with Boeing to replace those aircraft has been plagued by delays and budget overruns.
The original contract was signed in 2018 – but last year Boeing predicted that the jet would not be ready until 2029.
By then, The Don will have left office.
The arrangement has raised eyebrows in Washington, with questions swirling over whether it violates the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which bans officials from accepting gifts “from any King, Prince or foreign State.”
Most unusual gifts given to U.S. presidents
by Harvey Geh
In 1904, Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia gifted President Theodore Roosevelt a zebra and a lion, which were sent to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
In 1972, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted President Richard Nixon two giant pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, following Nixon’s historic visit to China, marking the beginning of “panda diplomacy”.
In 2002, President Georgi Parvanov presented President George W. Bush with a Bulgarian Goran shepherd pup named “Balkan,” which was later given to a family in Maryland due to restrictions.
In 1990, Indonesian President Suharto gifted President George H.W. Bush a pair of Komodo dragons, which were subsequently donated to the Cincinnati Zoo.
In 2008, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete presented President George W. Bush with stuffed leopard and lion trophies during a state visit.
In 2003, Argentine President Néstor Kirchner gave President George W. Bush 300 pounds of raw lamb as a gesture of goodwill.
In 2011, Barack Obama was given crocodile insurance, which would have paid out 50,000 Australian Dollars to his wife if he were attacked by a croc.
In 2012, David Cameron presented Obama with a Dunlop table tennis table, and in return was given a “one-of-a-kind” Braten 1000 Series charcoal and wood burning grill, handmade by Engelbrecht Grills and Cookers of Paxton, from Illinois.
But lawyers for the White House and Department of Justice insist it’s legal.
ABC reports Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump’s top White House lawyer David Warrington concluded the deal is “legally permissible.”
They argue the gift is not going directly to Trump but instead to the federal government – and eventually a public institution.
Experts say the jumbo jet is valued at around $400million – not including the additional communications and high tech equipment which will need to be added.
According to the Wall Street Journal, aviation firm L3Harris has already been commissioned to overhaul the aircraft.
The Sun has contacted the White House for more information.
