Qatar Will Buy Boeing Jets — After Donating 747 To Trump

Topline Qatar Airways will buy 210 jets from Boeing, the companies announced Wednesday during President Donald Trump’s visit there, as Trump is expected to accept a $400 million jet from the country, despite bipartisan criticism of security and conflict-of-interest concerns. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (R) receives US President Donald Trump in the Qatari ... More capital of Doha on May 14, 2025. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images) Key Facts Boeing signed the agreement alongside Trump and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, shortly after Trump’s arrival there—his second stop on a four-day tour of the region where the U.S. and American business executives have inked billions in deals. Trump said during the signing Qatar Airways agreed to buy 160 jets, but the White House later corrected Trump’s originally stated figure in a fact sheet. The visit comes as Qatar has offered to donate a $400 million luxury jet for Trump’s use while Boeing builds new Air Force Ones. Trump, who has a well-known fascination with large jets, has insisted he will accept the gift—despite growing bipartisan concerns, even among some of his staunchest supporters—telling reporters earlier this week he would be “stupid” not to take the plane. Ahead of Wednesday’s visit, he defended the expected gift on Truth Social, sharing a post comparing it to the Resolute Desk, a gift from the U.K.’s Queen Victoria, and the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, and questioned in another post “why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE,” adding “only a FOOL would not accept this gift.” As Trump spends the day in Qatar, the Democratic National Committee said it will fly a “Qatar-a-Lago” banner near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. Tangent Trump’s personal business in the Middle East, including Qatar, has come under heightened scrutiny ahead of his four-day visit to the region. The MGX investment fund, backed by the Emirati government, recently invested $2 billion in Binance using stablecoin from Trump’s World Liberty Financial crypto project. Trump told The New York Times Wednesday from Air Force One, en route to Qatar, he didn’t “know anything about” the deal, but said “I’m a big crypto fan, I will tell you.” Trump is set to conclude his visit to the Middle East in the United Arab Emirates Thursday. Key Background Trump traveled to Qatar Wednesday afternoon following a two-day stop in Saudi Arabia. There, Trump announced the Saudis agreed to invest an additional $600 billion in the U.S., including a $142 billion defense contract and billions of dollars in artificial intelligence development. Trump was joined in Saudi Arabia by dozens of business executives attending an investment forum coinciding with the visit, including Elon Musk, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Palantir’s Alex Karp. Qatar’s plans to gift Trump a Boeing 747-8 have largely overshadowed his visit to the Middle East. Both Democrats and Republicans have raised concerns that the plane—which could be the largest foreign gift to the federal government in history—could tee Trump up for a quid-pro-quo situation with the Qatari government or present security risks. Trump has insisted the plane would be gifted to the Department of Defense, not him personally, and that he would not use it once it’s donated to his presidential library after leaving office. The White House has said it is reviewing the legality of the donation. Further Reading Trump Middle East Visit: Musk, Altman And Other Billionaires Join Trump In Saudi Arabia, Inking Billions In Deals (Forbes) Republicans Question Trump’s Plan To Accept Luxury Plane Gift From Qatar (Forbes) It’s Huge! Trump’s Jumbo Jet Obsession Through The Years (Forbes) Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/05/14/trump-meets-emir-of-qatar-as-he-insists-on-gifted-plane-amid-qatar-a-lago-criticism/