A dispute over Boeing 747-8 from Qatar – ‘Air Force They are not a flying palace, but a command centre.”

President of the United States Donald Trump expressed his desire to accept a luxury aircraft as a gift from the household of Emir Qatar. He said it was a “very good gesture”. Aeroplane Boeing 747-8 worth about $400 million is to be upgraded to the presidential model Air Force 1 and donated to Trump's presidential foundation after his departure from office," reported American media. Qatar hasn't released an authoritative message yet.

“I can be stupid and say no”

When asked if Qatar would request something in return, Trump simply said that he appreciated this "great gesture" from Qatar. He's not the kind of guy to turn down an offer like that. “Well, I could be a fool and say, “No, we don’t want a free, very costly plane.” But I thought it was a wonderful gesture," Trump said before starting his journey to the mediate East.

The Qataris would give USA A free plane, said Trump. Now he could say he'd alternatively pay a billion or 400 million dollars. "Or I could say: Thank you very much." He stressed that Boeing was officially a gift to the U.S. Department of Defense. After his word of office, the plane will go to the presidential library.

Upgrading to a presidential plane would cost the Pentagon immense sums

However, American safety experts find Trump's thought completely absurd. The inspection and modernisation of the aircraft transferred by the abroad state, so as to become Air Force One, would absorb immense sums. Air Force 1 is not a flying palace with golden walls that would service the most convenient travel of the president of the United States," said Richard Aboulafia, an air defence expert and consultant, in an interview with American diary of defence News. Instead, Air Force 1 is simply a flying command center that must not only be bug-proofed, but besides equipped with state-of-the-art systems and various defence systems in case of emergency.

“This full discussion on gifts is based on a misunderstanding,” says Aboulafia. It is impossible in a fewer weeks to upgrade civilian Boeing 747 to the form of a functional presidential aircraft. Either the control would be very long-lasting and costly, or the president and Chief Commander would be exposed to unacceptable safety risks.

The current Air Force One, which the president uses, is 13 years old. The American Boeing company was about to deliver the successor to the plane, but production was delayed. Currently, the successor is expected to be ready by 2029 at the latest, but according to the latest information Boeing wants to accelerate transportation by 2027. It is besides late, according to Trump, who already during his first word argued with Boeing about production costs, and now seemingly believes that he found a viable solution in the form of a plane from Qatar. There is inactive no information on how costly and time-consuming the device will yet be.

The president of the United States will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United arabian Emirates by Thursday. The planned gift may be officially announced during Trump's stay in Qatar. This plan raises legal and ethical doubts. According to ABC, 1 may uncertainty whether the Trump administration has the right to accept specified an costly gift from a abroad partner. However, the various legal departments of the government examined this plan and seemingly approved it.

Constitutional expert: ‘The incidental is unprecedented’

Constitutional lawyers, however, sound the alarm. "This event is unprecedented," she said. Jessica Levinson , constitutional law expert at Loyola Law School. "We have never tested specified restrictions before".

The Constitution forbids national officials from accepting valuables or "delights" from abroad governments without Congress' approval. "This is simply a classical example of what the founders of the country were worried about," he said Richard Painter , prof. of Law at the University of Minnesota and erstwhile head of the White home Ethics Commission in Bush's time. "But I don't think the founders anticipate it to be that bad."

Several incidents in the first and second term

Trump had to fight the legal conflict over polite returns in his first word as he opened the door of his hotel in Washington for lobbyists, businessmen and diplomats. His lawyers argued that the founders did not intend to ban transactions that would constitute an exchange of services specified as hotel rooms for money, but only direct gifts. any ethical lawyers, however, disagreed and it is unclear whether Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and another countries paid the full price for utilizing the hotel or more.

Senators see conflict of interest

Four Democratic organization Senators from the Committee on abroad Affairs — Brian Schatz , Chris Coons , Cory Booker and Chris Murphy — has issued a message stating that Trump's plan creates a clear conflict of interest, raises serious questions about national security, encourages abroad interference and undermines public assurance in the government. "No 1 – even the president – is above the law," they said.

The catalogue price of the fresh Boeing 747-8 (as of 2019) was over $400 million (355 million). According to the American media, the aircraft in question is over 10 years old. Both current presidential aircraft have been in usage since the 1990s.