Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) recently highlighted that discussions about Qatar providing the U.S. with a temporary replacement for Air Force One began during the Biden administration, a fact that many Democrats have conveniently overlooked. While the left harshly criticized President Donald Trump for accepting a plane from Qatar, it seems the Biden administration's previous engagement with the Gulf nation has not sparked the same level of outrage.
During a recent CNN interview, Mullin revealed what the media isn’t saying, which is that the Biden administration began talks about replacing Air Force One, pointing out that Trump was “flying around on a 40-year-old plane.”
“Here’s what’s interesting to me, what the media isn’t telling you — what no one’s talking to you about, is the same 747 has been in negotiations for a year,” Mullin said. “The Biden administration is the one that started these conversations. It didn’t start underneath the Trump administration. Why? Because we need a back-up for Air Force One.”
Mullin noted that there are no backup planes for Air Force One, and the one previously used had developed structural issues. The plane Trump is currently using has been in service for over three decades.
Failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was just one of the left’s party members to criticize Trump for accepting the jet from Qatar.
“No one gives someone a $400 million dollar jet for free without expecting anything in return,” Clinton wrote on X. “Be serious.”
However, in 2016, the Clinton Foundation confirmed receiving a $1 million donation from Qatar while Hillary Clinton was serving as Secretary of State.
Meanwhile, nine Senate Democrats have requested that the Pentagon’s watchdog investigate the president's potential acceptance of the plane and the involvement of the Department of Defense.
Sources say that the plane's ownership will initially be transferred to the United States Air Force to be modified so that it meets the U.S. military specifications required for any aircraft used to transport the President of the United States. Before Trump's term ends in 2029, the "flying palace" will then be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation.