the Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution

Could the potential Qatari gift of a 747 as a temporary Air Force One constitute a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution?

Article I, Section 9, Clause 8:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

The 747 is supposed to be a gift from the nation of Qatar to the US military, not to President Trump himself (see the previous post). If Trump accepts the gift, it's on behalf of our military, and the gift is meant to be used by any high official regardless of party. The plane is also supposed to be a mere temporary stopgap, a brief solution to the problem of aging transportation; it will in time be shunted to Trump's presidential library (every recent president has to have his own library for some reason) once Boeing finally produces the new, official Air Force One, which was commissioned during Obama's tenure, seemingly ignored by Joe Biden and his handlers, and not due for roll-out until after the end of Trump's term.

I'm utterly unconcerned about whether the acceptance of such a gift might "look bad." The left will see Trump sneeze and somehow spin that to mean he's definitely Hitler. From the left's point of view, there's nothing Trump can do to look good. So who cares about looks? And the majority of the American people seem to agree: most people are sick of the Democrats' constant pearl-clutching, exaggerations, and shenanigans; they largely see through the nonsense now, especially the younger part of the Gen Z spectrum. A significant portion of the US voting population remains trapped and hypnotized by hoary old false narratives, but that's been changing recently, and people are losing patience with the left's incessant shrillness and projection ("It's the right that's shrill! It's the right that's violent!").

That said, there are practical reasons not to accept this gift from Qatar that may be at least faintly related to the Emoluments Clause, or at least to the reasoning behind the clause. As one video mentions, some MAGA Republicans are against the gift because Qatar (which I recently mentioned myself) is a sponsor and supporter of terrorism, specifically of the Hamas brand. There's also the possibility that Qatar is giving the US a Trojan Horse, filled with subtle spying equipment that will need to be rooted out and eliminated, making the plane a security nightmare. The plane might need to be renovated, anyway, just to comply with US safety standards. This will all take time, so how likely is it that Donald Trump would even be able to use the plane right away if it were gifted to the US?

Of course, Trump is in trouble with his loyal base for more reasons than just this potential gift. He recently floated the very un-conservative idea of using price controls to lower the cost of pharmaceuticals in the US, possibly raising the cost of drugs exported to other countries to compensate for drug companies' loss in revenue. Artificial price controls are anathema to most conservatives, who prefer free-market solutions. At the same time, it's a well-known joke that free-market dynamics haven't applied to the drug-manufacturing industry for a long, long time, hence the ridiculously out-of-control prices. Trump himself has spun his move as a blow against price controls and as somehow pro-free market, but many of us aren't following his logic. True, drug prices are ridiculously expensive in the States, but are price controls really the answer? We'll see. What's more, Trump has been angering his base by suddenly antagonizing Israel, claiming to want a pro-Palestinian solution to the long-standing occupation problem and seemingly divorcing himself from Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made some angrily defiant statements, in recent days, about unilaterally going it alone in Israel's campaign against Hamas. None of this is enough to generate a feeling of "buyer's remorse" among the MAGA crowd, but Trump is definitely testing the crowd's faith.

That said, I've been wrong about Trump many times before. Maybe this leftist-smelling policy and his other provocative moves are the right (i.e., correct) way to go, like being pro-worker and America First. Who knows? These issues are bigger than I am, and I am small of brain.