On Monday, President Donald Trump chastised an ABC reporter for expressing interest in accepting a luxury jet from Qatar, claiming it would be “stupid” to decline.
“What do you say to people who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you?” ABC’s Rachel Scott questioned him at the White House, where he signed an executive order urging pharmaceutical companies to lower prices on key drugs.
“You’re ABC Fake News, right?” Trump inquired. “Let me tell you, you should feel embarrassed asking that question. They are giving us a free jet. I could say, ‘No, no, no. Don’t give us. I’d like to pay you a billion, 400 million, or whatever it is. Or I could say, “Thank you very much, you know.”
Trump launched into an anecdote about legendary golfer Sam Snead and how he would always accept a putt offered to him by a competitor, known in the sport as a “gimme.”
“A lot of people are stupid,” Trump declared. “They say, ‘No, no; I insist on putting it.'” They putt it and miss it. When they hand you a putt, you pick it up, walk to the next hole, and say, ‘Thank you very much.'”
Scott continued: “Respectfully sir, as a businessman, some people may look at this and say, ‘Have you ever been given a gift worth millions of dollars and then not received any -“
“It’s not a gift to me,” Trump stated. “It’s a gift to the Department of Defense, and you should know better, because you’ve already been embarrassed, as has your network.” Your network is a disaster. “ABC is a disaster.”
Trump defended the United States’ preparation to accept a jumbo jet gift from Qatar’s royal family to serve as a temporary Air Force One fleet after Boeing failed to deliver a new fleet on time.
“We’re very disappointed that it’s taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One,” Trump told reporters Monday. “You know, we have an Air Force One that is forty years old. And when you compare that to the new plane of the equivalent, you know, stature at the time, it’s not even the same game.”
Critics argue that the move is unethical and illegal, akin to accepting a foreign bribe. However, the White House clarifies that there is no quid pro quo with the Middle Eastern country and that the donation is being reviewed legally to ensure transparency.
Trump confirmed Sunday evening on Truth Social that the 747 would be given to the Department of Defense as a gift, calling Democrats “world-class losers” for criticizing the gift.
“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,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Anyone can do it!” The Democrats are World-Class Losers!! MAGA.”
Trump clashed with ABC’s Terry Moran during his first 100-day interview in the Oval Office last month. At times, the president mocked the reporter, saying he didn’t know who he was and labeling a question “stupid.”
