The plane being a White Elephant gift is the funniest turn this saga could have taken

[demmiblue]

Hayes Brown
‪@hayesbrown.bsky.social‬

The plane being a White Elephant gift is the funniest turn this saga could have taken

‪Helen Kennedy‬
‪@helenkennedy.bsky.social‬

Forbes: The Qataris have been trying to get rid of that ostentatious luxury jet for five years, but no one would buy it. It costs too much to fly, costs more to maintain, and needs too big a landing strip. They had another one they unloaded on Turkey.
Delicious.
www.forbes.com/sites/jeremy...

Why The Qataris Are Happy To Dump Their 747 On Trump
The president may be thirsting for a new four-engine jumbo jet, but many governments and royal families are unloading their fuel-guzzling palaces in the sky.
www.forbes.com

May 15, 2025 at 11:18 AM

The plane being a White Elephant gift is the funniest turn this saga could have taken

— Hayes Brown (@hayesbrown.bsky.social) 2025-05-15T15:18:22.506Z

The royal family of Qatar, owner of one of the largest private jet fleets in the world, has been quietly getting rid of some of its biggest planes. It may have found the perfect taker for one of its Boeing 747 jumbo jets in President Donald Trump, who has been frustrated with the multi-year delays in replacing Air Force One.

While many have speculated that the Qataris have offered Trump the luxurious plane to curry favor with the famously transactional president, there may be a simpler rationale: they just don’t want it anymore.

The royals have failed to sell the plane, which was put on the market in 2020, according to an archived listing. Giving it away could save Qatar’s rulers a big chunk of change on maintenance and storage costs, aviation experts told Forbes. Making Trump happy would be an added bonus.

Qatar, which has given away another blinged-out 747 and may have mothballed two more, epitomizes the fading demand for these huge, fuel-guzzling, highly personalized airplanes. There aren’t many who want to buy them, and many of the governments and royal families who own them have been trying to ditch them over the past decade.

[Autumn]

1. It's not that funny if the tax payer foots the bill. I'm betting we will end up doing it.

[unc70]

2. Seems hard to even "regift" them

[chouchou]

3. Trump will/would come up with some stupid crap.

Come Fly with me..Come Fly a way with meeeeee...
YES..YOU can fly with your substitute Father...for a measly 12,500 us dollars! Flights weekly...(After Donald is through Golfing)

[John1956PA]

4. The appeal of some audaciously conceived aircraft never takes off.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules

[dweller]

5. such a child

✌🏻

[Walleye]

6. Well, maybe he shouldn't fly anywhere if the current Air Force One is in such bad shape

[spooky3]

15. As someone posted yesterday, let him have the plane, but restrict its access to the Newark Aiport only.

Lawrence was hilariously snarky about TSF's getting a "second hand plane."

[Walleye]

19. Good one!

[vanlassie]

35. Most children hate hand-me-downs.

Especially when they are from their rich but snotty cousins.

[LuvJoesPartner]

7. It's illegal, end of story.

If he wants the plane, just take it for personal use. It should not be taken by our government and funded by taxpayers to upgrade it for his whims. It’s ridiculous and a violation of the emoluments clause….

[slightlv]

25. Didn't the courts basically suspend the

Emoluments Clause for him during his first installation as prez? /snark

[karynnj]

44. Simpler solution. Require Congress to approve the expenditure of upgrading

Yes, I know Republicans control both Houses. However, given that it is said to take more than a year to thoroughly upgrade AND he intends to take it with him, it should be a politically toxic vote for anyone concerned about the deficit.

A thorough analysis of all the costs, including:
1) the cost of upgrading
2) the excess cost of maintaining and storing the AF1 fleet ( the current default is storing the 2 old AF1s until the two new ones replace them. I assume Trump will continue using the old AF1s until his plane is updated. Question - what is the current time frame for the new ones? Will he really use a more than decades old plane rather than the new one?
3) after the plane is upgraded what are the extra fuel costs versus using the old AF1 or the new one if it becomes available?

My thoughts?
Wouldn't decorating one of the not completed new jets in his style be better than building new state of the art planes IN PARALLEL to upgrading a white elephant?
Are we maybe paying a fortune to buy Trump a status item for his library? If so, why not have Trump not use it as President and not upgrade it. ( Legally, I think he or his library needs to pay the Treasury the value of this gift. After the Obama term, there were articles on gifts that were given to the government, noting that some recipients paid the value to keep things given to them.)

[UTUSN]

8. K&R for, *DELICIOUS!*

[ECL213]

9. I wonder how much he'll charge his Secret Service detail...

to ride on his library's private plane?

[not fooled]

10. One month of his crypto grift profits

will pay for the retrofit. Go for it, ahole!

[Mopar151]

32. Retrpofit would cost more than the whole new plane if it were even possible.

Besides Forbes is right about room and board for that ugly fucker!

[Warpy]

11. Eiter GMTA or she reads DU

because I posed that soon after the "gift to the DOD" was announced.


sheikh al Thani is far from stupid and unloading this big, overweight monstrosity on King Grifter is a stroke of genius. It gets the right wing Lard and Savior in hot water with the law, especially since he's trying to do a tap dance pretending it belongs to the DOD but will revert to his ownership the day he leaves office.

I'm going to enjoy hearing all the morons trying to justify this one. Thank you, Sheikh al Thani, for realizing you don't need this kind of monstrosity any more, that smaller jets will get you more places in the same style and comfort.t while the gold encrusted white elephant of his youth can be used to cause problems for the biggest asshole on the planet, an asshole who has cost Qatar a lot of money by cratering oil prices.

[ToxMarz]

12. While there is no way in hell this should happen,

I'm not an expert by any means on Jets, but the new Air Force One planes are I think the same type of Boeing four engine plane, the 747-8, as the Qatar plane. So the size and expense to fly considerations aren't really the reason not to have them, though they may be the reason someone without the resources and requirements of the US President would want to get out from under them.

[Blue Owl]

13. We should all send our garbage to Mag a Lardo

[colorado_ufo]

14. Ah yes, "The Art of the Deal!"

Such a stupendous negotiator! Boy, "Sir," you really know how to drive a bargain! Wow!!

[the nelm]

38. Or in this case, "there's one born every minute..." n/t

[randr]

16. It is the equivalent of buying a used ferry boat

and installing gold plated toilets. The only thing Trump ever sees is the glitter.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. Why The Qataris Are Happy To Dump Their 747 On Trump

Last edited Thu May 15, 2025, 02:56 PM - Edit history (1)

This plane has been on the market for five years and there are no buyers. This plane uses a ton of fuel and can only land on special runways. trump is bailing out a member of the royal family by taking a plane that is not marketable.

"Why The Qataris Are Happy To Dump Their 747 On Trump"

"There may be a simpler rationale: they just don’t want it anymore."

@jeremybogaisky.bsky.social for @forbes.com

— Zach Everson (@zacheverson.com) 2025-05-15T17:36:13.733Z

Why The Qataris Are Happy To Dump Their 747 On Trump"

"There may be a simpler rationale: they just don’t want it anymore."

Link to tweet

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2025/05/14/qatar-747-trump

The royal family of Qatar, owner of one of the largest private jet fleets in the world, has been quietly getting rid of some of its biggest planes. It may have found the perfect taker for one of its Boeing 747 jumbo jets in President Donald Trump, who has been frustrated with the multi-year delays in replacing Air Force One.,....

The royals have failed to sell the plane, which was put on the market in 2020, according to an archived listing. Giving it away could save Qatar’s rulers a big chunk of change on maintenance and storage costs, aviation experts told Forbes. Making Trump happy would be an added bonus.

Qatar, which has given away another blinged-out 747 and may have mothballed two more, epitomizes the fading demand for these huge, fuel-guzzling, highly personalized airplanes. There aren’t many who want to buy them, and many of the governments and royal families who own them have been trying to ditch them over the past decade.

“Qatar, like many modern states, is shifting toward leaner, more versatile aircraft, which offer better economics and more discreet presence for official travel,” Linus Bauer, managing director of the Dubai-based aviation consulting firm BAA & Partners, told Forbes. Giving the plane to Trump would be “a creative disposal strategy” that marks “a farewell to a bygone model of geopolitical theater in the skies.”.....

Beyond poor fuel efficiency, large ostentatious planes are a security risk, notes Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace consultant with Aerodynamic Advisory. “These things are big targets.” And bigger planes can only land on longer runways, limiting their usage. “There are a lot more airports you can get into if you have a narrowbody, and many more still if you have a traditional business jet,” he said......

Giving the 747-8 to the U.S. would also allow the Qataris to avoid maintenance costs that are only getting higher with the 747 fleet shrinking worldwide and fewer mechanics available who know how to work on them, said John Goglia, a former airline mechanic and member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. The 2020 sales brochure noted that the plane was due for a landing gear overhaul in 2024 and a 12-year check in 2027. A check in which the airplane and engines are taken apart, typically carried out every six to 12 years, can take months to complete and cost millions of dollars. “The numbers are staggering,” said Goglia.

[Iamscrewed]

18. Ignorant dumbass

When will the repugnuts wake up and accept the simple fact that tRump is a simpleton effing CLOWN.

[MissouriDem47]

20. Trump is a Billionaire

If Trump wants the plane, he is a billionaire, why doesn't he buy it?

[slightlv]

26. or get one of his tech bros to buy it for him!

But then, we'd STILL get stuck with upgrade and maintenance costs. trump never spends any of his own money.

[karynnj]

45. What if Congress refuses to allocate money to upgrade it

After all, someone bought it, it is Trump's personal property. As to whether it is secure enough to use, when has secure communication been observed by this administration.

Tell Trump whenever he is on the plane, he can not be considered accessible and, just as if he was under anesthesia, Vance would temporarily be in charge. I certainly don't like Vance, but I suspect that Trump would absolutely not want to lose power to anyone.

[madville]

21. And while everyone is on this story

The House moves a $625B cut to Medicaid out of committee that will now go to a full vote

[SleeplessinSoCal]

22. Trump IS the White Elephant.

The g(r)ift that keeps on giving what nobody wants. Well, maybe his billionaire suckups.

The White Elephant Dung Bunch..

[Figarosmom]

23. They know an easy mark when they

See one.

[MLWR]

24. Proving yet again

That the biggest perpetrator of "waste, fraud and abuse" is Donald J. Trump.

[ret5hd]

27. Beware Qataris bearing gifts.

[Demovictory9]

28. They found a chump!!

[FakeNoose]

29. Here in Pittsburgh, we have a different term for "white elephant"

We'd call it a "ridiculously expensive piece of shit."

[Prairie Gates]

30. It's not a gift. It's a bribe

[AllyCat]

31. OMG LOL!!! 😂

[Harker]

33. The shart of the deal.

[Mopar151]

34. Gotta remember, AF-1 is a sweet ride!

Trouble is, it's a classic, impeccably maintained. It's not at all Trump, whose Philistine tastes are legend!

[BidenRocks]

36. He expects to take a fully outfitted

VC-25 and we give it to him with all the classified equipment and armaments.
Would you like extra ammo sir?
That ain't happening. He is good at stealing classified material, but this shit ain't happening!
Shall we fly it to Moscow sir? Pyongyang perhaps, sir?

[BadgerMom]

37. If he takes the plane as his private property after stepping down, will it hasten his departure?

If he did, would it be worth it to get rid of him? Or to end the talk about a third term? Asking for a weary nation.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

39. It's going to take two and a half years and $100 million to make it useful as Air Force One.

Fat Donnie says he's going to keep it as his personal jet. If the security systems aren't removed -- probably another $100 million -- it will be like stealing all those classified documents times 10.

My bet he'll keep it until the 2028 election and then run a third time, claim the election was stolen, and use that plus the plane to portray himself as the REAL president.

[aggiesal]

40. We all know the symbol of the (R) party is the Elephant.

What better gift to pique the biggest White Elephant in the (R) party?

[SpankMe]

41. All of the uber-rich should be shamed and ostracized as a matter of course

They should be treated with the same social disdain as a pederast. Permanently. Just because of who they are.

In the middle of the linked article, they mention a 747-8 (the largest variant) purchased by the Saudis and then scrapped for parts after only 42 hours of flight time.

This plane took years to build, required hundreds of thousands of labor hours, consumed gobs of raw materials (aluminum, steel, composites, chemicals, etc.) that took a toll on the environment to obtain and process, and cost over $350M. And it was basically thrown in the trash after little more than the ferry flight from Seattle to Saudi Arabia.

This level of waste should be am international crime given the disease, poverty, despair and starvation that exists around the world.

There aren't enough "fuck you's" in the multiverse for these people. They should be disqualified as human beings. Fuck Musk. Fuck Bezos. Fuck Saudi royalty.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

42. This makes me smile

[uponit7771]

43. These people are so rich they can pore 500mil into an airplane and dump it without much thought