Jeffrey Blehar writes for National Review Online about a questionable Trump administration deal.
The oil-rich Gulf micro-state of Qatar reportedly is looking to donate a half-billion-dollar Boeing 747-8 to Donald Trump, for use as a replacement for Air Force One. (Trump considers the current AF1 to be “too old” and thus beneath his dignity, although it is in no way unsafe.)
Are you worried about the idea of the president flying around in a plane donated to America by a nation known both for its massive Washington “influence operation” and its friendliness with major terrorist groups in the Middle East? Then fear not, for this gift is only “temporary” and shall remain unsullied by future, less worthy presidents: Trump, according to reports, will retire it from federal service and transfer ownership to himself, under the nominal institutional control of his presidential library. “Only a stupid person” would refuse such a gift, he says. So what’s your problem, huh? You’re not stupid, are you?
No, I am not, which is why I refuse to be condescended to by either Trump or his defenders. Your lyin’ eyes are not deceiving you: This is exactly what it looks like, it is utterly appalling, and if you tolerate it or make lazily partisan excuses to justify it, then you will deserve what inevitably comes next. …
… This is a transparent attempt at an international bribe — a personal gift to the president to curry future favor — so much so that I don’t see the point in pretending it to be anything but one. Even if you personally believe Trump to be as incorruptible as Robespierre — even if you are that willfully ignorant of his entire history of business dealings — the terrible optics and moral hazards of a president accepting his own personal Air Force One from a nation of shady oil billionaires are beyond obvious.
