Qatari prime minister dismisses controversy surrounding Trump plan to accept gifted jet

The Qatari prime minister and minister of foreign affairs dismissed controversy surrounding President Donald Trump’s plan to accept from his country a Boeing 747-8 to be used initially as Air Force One, telling CNN it’s simply a “government-to-government transaction,” not a personal gift to Trump, Report informs via CNN.

“This is a very simple government-to-government dealing,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said Wednesday in an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson, adding that the matter was “still under legal review.”

Al-Thani would not confirm if a Qatari official approached Trump with an offer to help, as Trump suggested in an interview with Fox News.

“It is a government-to-government transaction,” Al-Thani said. “It has nothing to do with personnel, whether it’s on the US side or the Qatari side. It’s Ministry of Defense and Department of Defense.”

The potential transfer of the jet – which Trump has said would be donated to his library after he leaves office – has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike, with some of Trump’s own supporters pointing to the appearance that Qatar is influence peddling.

Republican Mike Rounds, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he has security concerns about the potential acceptance of the Qatari jet, likening it to a modern-day version of the Trojan horse. Another Republican member of that panel, Sen. John Cornyn, said he would also have concerns with Trump accepting the plane.

Al-Thani said ultimately, if the United States needs something and it’s legal, the Qataris will help, but not because they seek anything in return.

“Why would we buy an influence in the United States? If you look just in the last 10 years in the US-Qatar relationship. Qatar has been always there for the US, when it’s needed, whether it’s on the war against terror, whether it’s in the evacuation of Afghanistan, whether it’s on releasing hostages from different, different countries around the world,” Al-Thani said.

However, Al-Thani said “yeah, of course” the offer would be withdrawn if it were deemed illegal.

“We will not do anything illegal. If there something illegal here, there would be many ways to hide these kind of transactions when will not be visible for the public. This is a very clear exchange that’s happening between two governments,” he said. “I don’t see any controversy.”

Trump, too, has repeatedly defended his plan to accept the jet. On Sunday, Trump characterized the move as a “GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE” to the US Defense Department and he suggested in another post on Tuesday that anyone who wouldn’t accept the 747 would be a “FOOL.” He’s repeatedly returned to that point, saying he would be a “stupid person” to turn down a free gift.

Experts say it will cost potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to convert the aircraft into Air Force One, including work to ensure high-level security, communications and defense capabilities.