Rep. Jared Moskowitz calls out 'corrupt' Donald Trump for using Qatar's gift as Air Force One
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump made his first journey aboard the new Air Force One, gifted by Qatar, from Washington to North Dakota to visit the newly built Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. While Trump was full of praise for the plane, many critics argue that a U.S. president should never have accepted such a gift from a foreign government. Among the critics, Rep. Jared Moskowitz believes that it made the country look weak.
Taking to X, the Florida Congressman stated that the President flying in a plane personally gifted to him by a foreign government also made him look corrupt. Moskowitz shared a video in which President Trump said that it was the first of many flights that he would be taking on that plane, claiming that it was the greatest commercial plane ever built. "To be honest with you, I am excited about the first flight," he said. "It's something nobody has seen anything like."
Watching a President of the United States fly a plane personally gifted to him by a foreign government isn’t just corrupt, it makes us look weak to the world. https://t.co/dT4MkDjNBo
— Jared Moskowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) July 1, 2026
Moskowitz is not the only U.S. Congressman to have criticized the President for accepting the Qatari gift and using it as Air Force One. Rep. Mike Levin took to X to warn Americans that they were being asked to "treat pure corruption as normal." This is because while the plane was built by the Qataris, it had to be retrofitted using taxpayer dollars to the tune of around $400 million. "When Trump leaves office, the plane does not stay with the government. Ownership transfers to his presidential library foundation. In other words, he keeps it," he wrote.
To everyone celebrating the first flight on Qatar Force One today, understand what you are actually applauding.
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevin) July 1, 2026
A foreign government handed the sitting President of the United States a $400 million plane. American taxpayers then paid to retrofit it, with an estimated cost of at…
The Air Force, however, claimed that it spent less than $400 million on security upgrades. The new plane replaces the traditional light blue hull of the previous Air Force One, with a color scheme of navy belly and red and gold stripes, which is what President Trump preferred, as per a report in CNBC. The interior boasts a luxurious setting with plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling, and a presidential seal on the seat belts.
Dubbed the "palace in the sky," as per the New York Post, the plane also boasts more legroom than its predecessor, featuring seats with recline, and an in-built massage option. The seats themselves have grown larger in size. Another upgrade from the previous Air Force One is the individual TVs for each seat, which offer a wide variety of content from cable news to Apple TV. The previous plane had TVs at the front of the cabin in front of seats that did not recline.
Trump on his $400,000,000 plane from Qatar:
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) July 1, 2026
"The country is very proud of it. And you can do two things: you can lowkey it, or you can show it." pic.twitter.com/CbpsDEGX7D
"You can low-key it or you can show it. And I think the country should be very proud of it. And it's beautiful," President Trump said before boarding it for the first time and heading to North Dakota. While Trump is seemingly fond of the new plane, its role as Air Force One is only temporary. Boeing is expected to deliver a new Air Force One in 2028, a project that has already been long delayed.
