My New Plane is Bigger Than Yours!

Bill Press, Tribune Content Agency on May 22, 2025

It’s official. In what is probably the most significant achievement of his first four months in office, Donald Trump has acquired a fancy new plane. For him, it’s a personal triumph. For the rest of us, it’s a national embarrassment.

His new plane is a luxury 747 worth $400 million called the “Flying Palace,” which the government of Qatar has been trying to dump for years. But, since nobody makes 747’s anymore and spare parts are practically non-existent, they had a hard time finding a willing buyer – until a sucker named Donald Trump came along.

It’s no secret how badly Trump wants a new Air Force One and how frustrated he is that Boeing can’t deliver one for another two years. So, as reported by CNN and the New York Times, once Trump was back in office the White House asked Qatar if its Flying Palace might still be for sale. You bet, said Qatar. We’ll even fly it to West Palm Beach (at an estimated round- trip cost of $1 million) so Trump can inspect it himself.

Which he did, off the record, on Feb. 15. And for Trump, penis envy kicked in. Their plane was clearly bigger, flashier, fancier and gaudier than his. He had to have it. But why should he buy it, Trump asked. Why don’t they just give it to me? Which Qatar – eager to get rid of the jet, and even more eager to be in Trump’s debt – readily agreed to.

There’s only one problem. The Constitution! Recognizing the peril of a president being influenced by expensive gifts from foreign countries, the Founding Fathers made sure that wouldn’t happen. Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8: “No person, holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, or foreign State.”

No translation needed. Without congressional approval, Donald Trump is forbidden by the Constitution from accepting a $400 million gift from Qatar. But the Constitution’s never stopped Trump, who says he’s not even sure he’s bound by it. So the White House invented an end run around the Constitution. It’s not a gift to Donald Trump, they argue, it’s a gift to the United States government. And Trump will never use it after he leaves office, he’ll turn it over to his presidential library.

All of which is total nonsense. If you believe that story, I’ve got a used 747 to sell you.

Of course, this “deal” may never happen. Before it can serve as a new, temporary Air Force One, the plane must be swept for hidden listening devices, equipped with the highest standards of security, and reconfigured to meet the needs of a presidential delegation, not a royal family. Experts say that could cost up to $1 billion, and might not even be finished before Trump leaves office.

But, repurposed as Air Force One or not, the Flying Palace will always stand as the symbol of what Donald Trump’s presidency is all about: self-enrichment. For him and his greedy family, the biggest bunch of grifters who ever walked the face of the earth.

It wasn’t the president alone who used last week’s romp through the Middle East to line his pockets. Before he got there, sons Eric and Donald Jr. had been on a whirlwind tour, signing deals for a $1 billion, 80-story luxury hotel in Dubai; a second high-end residential tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; a new high-rise Trump hotel in Serbia; a new golf course and villa complex in Qatar; and a new, exclusive private club in Washington.

These ventures come on top of the meme coins Trump is hawking (top buyers get a private dinner with the president); the sneakers, Bibles, and trading cards he’s still selling; and World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm Trump just launched with a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi. All of which benefit not just his sons, but Trump himself.

For Donald Trump, the presidency is nothing but a giant money-making scheme. Period. As world leaders now realize. When Trump, in their Oval Office meeting this week, accused South Africa of “genocide,” President Cyril Ramaphosa fired back: “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.”

In all seriousness, Trump replied: “I wish you did. I would take it.” In which case, of course, Ramaphosa would have been treated a lot better. Sad!

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(Bill Press is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod and on BlueSky @BillPress.bsky.social.)