Trump’s loyal MAGA base turns on him over Qatar Air Force One deal: 'This is not a gift. It’s a bribe'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump might have thought he was scoring a win by accepting a luxury jet from Qatar, but the backlash from his own MAGA faithful has been nuclear.

The POTUS is facing furious heat from his own side after greenlighting what’s being called an Air Force One-style aircraft courtesy of the Gulf nation. 

And it’s not the Democrats leading the charge, it’s conservative voices who usually defend his every move.

“This is not a gift. It’s a bribe,” declared Batya Ungar-Sargon on Newsmax, hammering the deal as a clear conflict of interest.

Right-wing Icons turn on Donald Trump over Qatar jet 'gift'

Ben Shapiro of The Daily Wire let loose on his podcast on Monday. “I think if we switched the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we’d all be freaking out on the right," he said.

He called the arrangement “indefensible” and tied it directly to what he labeled a troubling pattern of “influence peddling,” citing Trump’s crypto sweepstakes as another glaring example.

“President Trump promised to drain the swamp,” Shapiro said, adding, “This is not, in fact, draining the swamp.”

Even the diehards are having a come-to-Jesus moment. Trump loyalist Laura Loomer said she’d take a bullet for the president, but did not approve of this transaction.

“This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true,” she posted on X. “And I say that as someone who would take a bullet for Trump. I’m so disappointed.”

That sentiment was echoed by Fox News host Mark Levin, who reposted her comment with a one-word caption: “Ditto.”

Qatar’s Hamas ties and Donald Trump’s crypto ventures spark GOP panic

Critics said that accepting a plane from Qatar — a country with alleged historic ties to Hamas — raises deeper national security concerns.

While Qatar claimed in 2023 that it would expel Hamas officials, there were no guarantees on the table. Andrew McCarthy, senior editor at National Review, called the entire deal flat-out wrong.

“Indefensible,” he wrote. “The president and his flacks again demonstrate that they don’t grasp the concepts of constitutional duty and conflicts of interest.”

He also pointed to Trump’s crypto controversies as more evidence of an ethical fog. Meanwhile, conservative radio host Erick Erickson warned that this might not just be a PR nightmare — it could be a legal one too.

“I think [Pam Bondi] is opening Donald Trump up to legal trouble later,” Erickson said, referring to the former Florida Attorney General and longtime Trump loyalist who reportedly signed off on the deal. Bondi was once a foreign lobbyist for Qatar.

Later, Erickson posted on X that even Trump’s base was rattled. “Even a lot of Trump supporters were not thrilled about the Qatar plane gift,” he wrote. “A lot of small accounts I’ve never interacted with before are flooding my timeline, insisting it is a great idea.”

Donald Trump defends jet 'gift' from Qatar 

As the controversy intensified, Team Donald Trump rushed to do damage control. White House press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared on 'Fox & Friends', insisting the transaction was a “government-to-government” deal that was “in full compliance with the law.” 

When Brian Kilmeade raised the concern that Qatar could expect a favor in return, Leavitt waved it off. “President Trump only works with the interest of the American public in mind," she declared.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Trump praised the gift and called it “stupid” to reject it.

“They said, ‘We would like to do something,’ and if we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department to use during a couple of years while they’re building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture,” he continued. 

“Now, I could be a stupid person and say, ‘Oh no, we don’t want a free plane.’ We give free things out, we’ll take one too," he said, before adding, “It helps us out because … we have 40-year-old aircraft. The money we spend, the maintenance we spend on those planes to keep them tippy-top, is astronomical. You wouldn’t even believe it. So, I think it’s a great gesture from Qatar; I appreciate it very much.”

"I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane,’ but I thought it was a great gesture," Trump concluded.

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