Uncategorized

Why Obama Could’ve Never Gotten Away With Accepting a $400 Million Jet as a Gift Like Trump

Photo: Win McNamee (Getty Images)

If we’re keeping a list of worrisome moves by President Donald Trump, his latest might crawl somewhere near the top: The Trump administration is preparing to accept a multi-million dollar gift from a foreign country, and it begs the question: Could any other president get away with this…especially our first Black president?

The president is set to receive a generous gift in the form of a $400 million jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar— the Middle Eastern country known for it’s natural resources— ABC first reported. While Trump defended the move on social media, calling it a “very public and transparent transaction,” many folks wonder how his new ride tracks with past presidential gifts….especially those received by Barack Obama.

In truth, receiving gifts from foreign countries isn’t as uncommon as you may think. In fact, from President Abraham Lincoln to former President George W. Bush, many American presidents have a long history of doing so. But since Trump’s jet marks the most expensive gift to a president in America history, let’s take a look at how it compares to gifts given to Obama.

Obama TookGifts Too…

Under the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clause, federal officials are prohibited from accepting gifts, titles or other benefits from foreign governments without Congressional approval. But as the president known for his diplomacy, you can understand why Obama was offered plenty of gifts during his tenure, although he didn’t keep many of them.

Like several of his predecessors, Obama’s presidential library has thousands of gifts. This includes silver cufflinks, Christmas ornaments and a double decker bus pencil sharpener, according to the Guardian. In his final days in office, folks were lining up around the block to give the first Black president something to remember.

Obama and his family did, however, turned over $2,500 in Cuban gifts to the U.S. Office of the Chief of Protocol in 2016, according to VOA News. The gifts were from Cuban President Raul Castro to honor the reestablished relationship between the two countries after decades of bad blood.

Obama set his own record for the most expensive gift in 2015 when Saudi King Salman presented him a horse sculpture made of gold-plated sterling silver, rubies, obsidian, diamonds and yellow sapphires, according to BBC. The sculpture, along with a chronometer, a set of golf clubs and bag, was estimated at almost $523,000, making it the most pricey gift to a president, according to the U.S. State Department. That is…until Trump.

Backlash to Trump’s Qatari Jet

Because U.S. relations in the Middle East are already on rocky grounds, many of Trump’s own allies are calling him out accepting the $400 million jet. Laura Loomer, the conservative activist who takes responsibility for getting the president to fire top political officials, even criticized the president on X.

She wrote “I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him. But, I have to call a spade a spade.” Continuing, Loomer called the Qatar royal family “jihadists in suits” before adding, “This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true… I’m so disappointed.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ABC News, “Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws.” She continued, “President Trump’s Administration is committed to full transparency.”

Many folks see Trump’s new plane as a bride, but when has criticism ever convinced the president to change his mind? After the plane arrives to the U.S., it will be transferred to Air Force for modifications, multiple sources familiar with the arrangement told ABC.

Before the end of his term, the plane will be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation.

Related Posts

Dark criminal past of historic $167.3m Powerball winner who was arrested days after snatching jackpot & used it for bail

A POWERBALL winner who scored a multi-million dollar prize has spent over three decades in and out of jail. James Shannon Farthing, 50, won Kentucky’s largest lottery jackpot, walking away with a…

Heartbroken Cristiano Ronaldo says ‘it doesn’t make sense’ in emotional tribute to Diogo Jota after his death

HEARTBROKEN Cristiano Ronaldo said “it doesn’t make sense” as he paid an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota following his Portugal team-mate’s tragic death. The Liverpool star, 28, died alongside…

Family, friends & Liverpool teammates gather for Diogo Jota & brother Andre’s funeral in Portugal after tragic car crash

FAMILY, friends and Liverpool teammates have gathered for Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva’s funeral in Portugal after Thursday’s tragic car crash. It comes after family and…

𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆 𝟮 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱)

Scarlett Johansson regresa como Lucy, la superhumana evolucionada cuyo viaje a la trascendencia fue solo el comienzo. Ambientada años después de los eventos de la primera película, Lucy…

𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟲 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲)

Han pasado años desde que Michael Scofield desapareció de la vista pública, dado por muerto tras desmantelar una conspiración global de operaciones encubiertas. Pero cuando una señal cifrada…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯)

The Flood (2023) es un thriller psicológico británico que combina elementos de survival horror con un intenso drama humano. Ambientada durante una inundación catastrófica, la película explora el…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *