Congressional Democrats are denouncing Trump’s plan to accept a luxury jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One, with the president arguing it would be “stupid” to turn down the offer.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Forces Committee, called the gift “a blatant conflict of interest” and said it “undermines the integrity of American leadership.”
“The President would also be in clear violation of the Emoluments Clause, a provision in the U.S. Constitution that prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts or financial benefits from any foreign state without the consent of Congress,” Reed said in a statement.
Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio compared the situation to earlier GOP criticism of Hillary Clinton, saying, “the appearance of corruption alone screams, ‘Bad idea!’ My views have not changed.”
Senate Democrats plan to try and force a vote this week on a resolution that would condemn the gift.
“There should be 100 of us that agree on this fundamental principle, no president should take free stuff from a foreign government, and certainly nothing worth $400 million,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said.
Trump yesterday called the gift “a nice gesture.”
“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’ But it was, I thought it was a great gesture,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
He went on to say that countries like Qatar “probably wouldn’t exist right now” if it wasn’t for the U.S. “And I think this was just a gesture of good faith,” he added.
