Trump dubs ABC News 'sleazebags' as he warns them over coverage of Boeing 747 gift by Qatar
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump threatened ABC News over its coverage of the $400 million Boeing 747 likely to be gifted to the Defense Department by the royal family of Qatar, as he labeled them 'sleazebags'.
Trump took his Truth Social account, where he wrote a long post boasting about the recent settlement agreement his legal team struck with ABC News, according to Mediaite.
Trump threatens ABC News over coverage of Boeing 747 gift by Qatar
Trump wrote on his post, "Why doesn’t Chairman Bob Iger do something about ABC Fake News, especially since I just won $16,000,000 based on the Fake and Defamatory reporting of Liddle’ George Slopadopolus."
"He was given warnings, but just couldn’t be restrained by “management.” Now I see they are at it again, and I again give these SleazeBags fair warning! The wonderful country of Qatar, after agreeing to invest more than 1.4 Trillion Dollars in the United States of America, deserves much better than Misleading (Fake!) News," he continued.
The POTUS added, "Everyone, including their lawyers, has been told that ABC must not say that Qatar is giving ME a FREE Boeing 747 Airplane, because they are not. Instead, and as Fake News ABC fully knows and understands, this highly respected country is donating the plane to the United States Air Force/ Defense Department, AND NOT TO ME."
Trump concluded his post and wrote, "By so doing, they are saving our country, and the American Taxpayer, hundreds of millions of dollars. ABC Fake News is one of the WORST."
Meanwhile, Trump did not point to any coverage that mentioned the plane was being given to him personally, per the outlet.
Moreover, ABC’s Jon Karl and Katherine Faulders broke the story on May 11, and the language in the report reflected that the plane was being gifted to the Defense Department, according to Mediaite.
Last week, ABC’s Rachel Scott asked the president in the White House, "What do you say to people who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you?" and Trump replied, "You should be embarrassed asking that question."
Qatari jet is an unsold plane waiting for a buyer since 2020
The Boeing 747-8 offered by the royal family of Qatar is reportedly an unsold one waiting for a buyer for years, Newsweek reported.
The outlet mentioned, citing aircraft listings and aviation analysts, that the plane was previously used by the Qatari royal family but in 2020, it was put up for sale.
Meanwhile, during an interview on May 16, Trump defended his decision to accept the plane to replace Air Force One, and dismissed bipartisan criticism as a "radical left story".
He told Fox News’s Bret Baier in Abu Dhabi during a stop on his diplomatic trip to the Middle East last week, "I just want to say, it was a radical left story."
He added, "The people here, to show you how crazy it is, they would like me to pay a billion dollars. I made a good deal."
Trump said during the interview that he’s not the beneficiary of the gift, as it is a present to the federal government, and will be “old” by the time it goes to his repository.
"This goes to the United States Air Force for whoever is president, and at some point, it’ll be like Ronald Reagan. It’ll be decommissioned, because they won’t want it," the POTUS said.
