Quotes
If you're ordering a plane today it's not going to be on your landing strip for at least five years,
Owens said
We are deeply honored that Qatar Airways has placed this record-breaking order with Boeing, one that solidifies their future fleet,
Boeing commercial plane chief Stephanie Pope saidThe plane would have to be thoroughly scrubbed to ensure that listening devices had not been implanted. That would take a great deal of time, to make sure that it meets the security standards that the president needs,
she added
The transaction strikes me as being rife with political espionage, ethical and constitutional problems,
Collins said In an interview with NBC News
I’m not a fan of Qatar. I think they have a really disturbing pattern of funding theocratic lunatics who want to murder us, funding Hamas and Hezbollah. And that’s a real problem,
Cruz said during an interview Tuesday on CNBC
Trump cannot accept a $400 million flying palace from the royal family of Qatar. Not only is this farcically corrupt, it is blatantly unconstitutional."
Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., declared
So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,
Trump wroteNo Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And 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, Prince, or foreign State."
At the heart of Democrats' concern over the matter is the emoluments clause in the Constitution, which statesWhen I first came in, I signed an order to get (the new Air Force One fleet) built,
he continuedAntonin Scalia, when he worked at the Justice Department, certainly agreed since he issued an opinion in 1974 pointing out that when the Constitution refers to an ‘officer,’ ‘it invariably refers to someone other than the President or Vice President,’
he continuedI also think the plane poses significant espionage and surveillance problems,
he addedIf this gift is being considered as a gift to the government of the U.S., there is no legal issue to consider, since there is no constitutional or legal problem with such a gift. If this is a personal gift to the president, the Justice Department would be weighing the constitutional issue I have raised – whether the emoluments clause even applies to the president,
he saidIf we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department, during a couple of years whole they’re [Boeing is] building the other one, I think that’s a very nice gesture [from Qatar],
he said on May 12.
Enforcing the emoluments clause in the courts would face similar challenges [in his second term], including the challenge of finding a plaintiff who has standing to challenge the violations,
she saidIf he wants it, and he says 'I'll accept any risk associated with not having all the stuff the real Air Force One has,' he can do that,
the former Air Force official said
Air Force One is designed to be survivable in all kinds of environments, including a nuclear war,
he added, noting the jet's ability to tolerate the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast is embedded in the jet's wiring and systems from the bottom upI don’t see any basis for this accusation, unless there are some people who are just trying to select who should be a friend of the U.S. and who should not,
he said on Fox News Wednesday
No one gives someone a $400 million jet for free without expecting anything in return. Be serious,
the former U.S. first lady, secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate wrote on X on Wednesday
If it's a gift to the U.S., that's different. But if it's a gift just to Trump, then I wouldn't be for it,
John, from Houston, told Fox News DigitalI think it's a good idea for the country to accept that. We've accepted other gifts from other countries, including the Statue of Liberty, so I can't see a problem with that,
Carrie of Kentucky, who was visiting Knoxville, said