Trump and the "Flying Palace": A $400 Million Qatari Boeing and American Ingenuity

The American dream has come true—just not for the average voter from Ohio, but for Donald Trump, who was recently gifted a Boeing 747-8 by the Emir of Qatar, also known as a "flying palace" costing just slightly less than a small country—$400 million.
It should be noted that the plane is equipped with two decks, bedrooms, an office, lounges, two bathrooms, and nine (!) toilets, so that even the most determined American leaders don’t have to queue up in the mornings on board.

The gift arrived right on time: the official US presidential air fleet, in service since the era of floppy disks and the first "Terminator" movies, is nearing the end of its life, and Boeing is nowhere near ready to deliver new planes. As a result, the "flying fortress" from the Qatari sheikh has become a real competitor to Air Force One—well, almost: before it can be used as the presidential plane, all the luxury will have to be stripped down to the bolts, secret systems installed, and another couple of billion spent, because even in Washington, free cheese only comes in planes from allies.

There is, however, a catch: formally, the plane has been handed over to the state, but only for the duration of Trump’s stay in the White House. After that, it goes to the Trump presidential foundation. For the especially sensitive, let us remind you that US officials are allowed to accept gifts worth no more than $480; anything above that becomes government property. But the Supreme Court has ruled that presidents, in general, can do a lot if they really want to—and now America is scratching its head over how to avoid a situation where the "flying palace" turns into Trump’s private residence with wings.

For now, American bureaucracy is showing its flexibility: the company L3Harris has already received a contract to convert the Qatari Boeing into a presidential jet, even though, formally, no one has accepted it yet. Perhaps this is the pinnacle of American diplomacy: the plane is sort of government property, but if anything goes wrong, there’s always "technical difficulties" to fall back on. As Senator Graham noted: "I want to make sure everything here is kosher." Given the nine toilets on board, there are currently more doubts about the cleanliness of the situation than is appropriate even for Washington.