Trump tells Sean Hannity Air Force One appears 'much less impressive’ parked next to Arab royals’ planes

WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump might fly in Air Force One, but he’s not exactly feeling like a high roller when it’s parked next to the mega-jets of Middle Eastern royalty.

During an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, who’s tagging along for Trump’s Middle East tour, the president confessed that America’s presidential plane just doesn’t stack up. 

“The plane that you’re on right now is almost 40 years old,” Trump told Hannity while chatting aboard Air Force One. Hannity teased the interview on X (formerly Twitter) with a pic of the two of them in conversation mid-flight, but Trump wasn’t grinning when it came to the state of the jet.

“When you land and you see Saudi Arabia, and you see UAE, and you see Qatar, and you see all this, and they have these brand new Boeing 747s mostly, and you see ours next to it, this is like a totally different plane,” Trump vented.

“It’s much smaller. It’s much less impressive—as impressive as it is,” he added. “We’re the United States of America, I believe that we should have the most impressive plane.” 

Donald Trump's allies and critics both nervous about Qatar's 'gift'

But Donald Trump’s enthusiasm for Qatar’s extravagant gift is wracking nerves in Washington, DC. The state-of-the-art Boeing 747 is set to be handed over by the Qatari Defense Ministry to the Pentagon as a "gift," which the POTUS insists is totally above board.

Still, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle aren’t exactly popping champagne over it. Republican heavyweights and normally staunch Trump allies such as Rick Scott, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley have voiced concerns, warning the jet could pose “significant espionage and surveillance problems," the Daily Beast reported. 

It’s not just the GOP sounding the alarm. Rep Joe Courtney, the top Democrat on the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, insisted that “retrofitting a plane from Qatar would create huge costs and a security nightmare that would impede the work underway to deliver the actual Air Force One by 2027.”

Even Trump’s loudest MAGA loyalists are squirming.

“I would take a bullet for him. But, I have to call a spade a spade,” Trump loyalist and activist Laura Loomer posted on X. “This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true… I’m so disappointed.”

Donald Trump claps back amid Qatar 'gift' backlash

Despite the backlash, Donald Trump isn’t backing down. “Some people say, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t accept gifts for the country.’ My attitude is, why wouldn’t I accept the gift? We’re giving to everybody else?” he told Sean Hannity.

He pushed back on Truth Social. “The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME!” he wrote. “It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years. It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive.”

Trump’s been salty about Boeing’s repeated delays. The new Air Force Ones were originally expected last year, but that timeline has since gone out the window. In February, Trump openly said he was “not happy” with the company over the setbacks.

Now, Air Force acquisition official Darlene Costello said that the delivery might finally happen by 2027, but only if the government and Boeing can make some trade-offs to move things along.

While Trump has touted the Qatari jet as a generous, “free of charge” gift, some defense experts are warning that the real price tag might be hiding under the hood.

“This gift could become a very expensive asset to own and operate,” former Air Force acquisitions chief Andrew Hunter told Politico. “You might even ask why Qatar no longer wants the aircraft. And the answer may be that it’s too expensive for them to maintain.” 

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