Trump’s Air Force One Deal Sets Bad Example for Corporate Leaders

Buckle up, attorneys. It’s time for some plane talk about bribery and conflicts of interest. Expect heavy turbulence.

Recently, President Donald Trump confirmed that his administration is preparing to accept a Boeing super luxury 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the royal family of Qatar. The 13-year-old plane, estimated to be worth $400 million dollars, has been referred to as a “palace in the sky.”

Plans are already in place to retrofit the plane for use as a temporary Air Force One. It seems that the two existing 35-year-old Air Force One aircraft are getting a bit shabby, and the replacement aircraft being built by Boeing (already delayed and over budget) aren’t scheduled to come into service until 2027 at the earliest, and possibly in 2029, after Trump leaves office.

Let’s dive into the ethics questions and examine Trump’s public justifications for accepting the largest gift (by an order of magnitude) ever given to a president.

Trump Is No Fool

“Only a fool would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country!”

Well, I’ve been called worse. I sure wouldn’t accept it, and I’m guessing that a lot of other business and political leaders wouldn’t either, in part because it will inevitably influence whoever gets the gift or, at a minimum, create the appearance of improper influence.

Will Qatar get special treatment for its $400 million gift? Well, it isn’t giving the plane to you and me—it’s giving it to the most powerful person on earth, someone who makes decisions that could alter the course of the country’s economy and existence. If it doesn’t get special treatment for a gift like this, it still would call into question the impartiality of any decision the US makes that could affect Qatar.

And of course, a “fool” might point to Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution, which specifically prohibits any person holding an office of trust from accepting any present “of any kind whatever” from any foreign king or foreign state, without approval from Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he saw no problem with it, but I don’t think this media statement is the kind of congressional approval the founders contemplated.

And this isn’t something buried in a federal regulation or Justice Department memo—it’s in our most important document. The fact that our Founding Fathers put this broad provision into the Constitution itself, in an era where gifts to foreign leaders were common, is a strong statement on their concern about potential improper foreign influence.

It’s Not for Trump

“The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME!”

This argument is at the heart of the rationale from the White House counsel and the Justice Department and deserves a close look. True, the plan is to transfer the plane to the Defense Department, where, according to defense and aviation professionals, it would have to be completely rewired and retrofitted for security purposes to meet Air Force One-level requirements, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Costs to operate and maintain the plane would also be covered by the government.

At the end of Trump’s term, according to the proposal, the plane would be moved to Trump’s presidential library and decommissioned, which means it’s not really being given to the American people. And the rules regarding the plane’s use would undoubtedly be made by Trump-friendly directors—I can imagine something like “the library’s plane will be stored near West Palm Beach airport and may be used by the former president and family members for travel to locations near luxurious golf resorts where the travelers can tout the administration’s many accomplishments.”

In other words, I suspect the real gift is the use of the plane for Trump indefinitely. Who really wants to “own” and maintain an extravagant aircraft when you can have exclusive use of it, whenever you want it, to go wherever you want to go—and have it all financed by taxpayers and donors?

Let’s not confuse the Qatar plane with, say, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France that is publicly displayed and enjoyed by all of the American people (and the huddled masses who visit and immigrate here), and generates hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue from tourism. If this is really a gift to our government, let’s just sell it upon delivery to Elon Musk and put the money toward funding Medicare, rather than spending hundreds of millions of unbudgeted dollars to retrofit and secure a plane that will literally fly out of our hands in a few years.

There’s also a bigger issue: the example this would set for business leaders, attorneys, and compliance professionals who are charged with upholding corporate codes of ethics and anti-bribery laws. Earlier this year, the president signed an executive order suspending prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for 180 days, on grounds that the act has unfairly disadvantaged businesses operating abroad. This action doesn’t exactly signal a full foreign bribery free-for-all as prosecutions approved by the attorney general herself can still go forward, and the five-year statute of limitations for FCPA violations—extending beyond the Trump administration—should give companies real pause. Still, it does send a clear signal that bribery and corruption in the name of good American business won’t exactly be a top priority.

And the actions of our leaders influence all of us—they matter as an example of the right behavior. If our president is flying around in a plane like that, surely I can accept a little expression of gratitude from a business partner. “That new Mercedes I’m driving? It wasn’t a gift. Our supplier gave it to my company as appreciation for all the business we give them, I’m just driving it until I retire, at which point we agreed that it will go to my family trust.”

It’s difficult for compliance professionals to preach doing the right thing when our president is engaged in what looks like corruption.

Most Impressive Plane

In defending the gift during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump noted that the new plane was larger and more impressive looking than the current Air Force One. “And you know, we’re the United States of America—I believe that we should have the most impressive plane.”

That’s what this is really about: My plane should be bigger than yours. But do we need the biggest plane to show the world that we’re global leaders—doesn’t that American flag on the side speak volumes?

And if we’re trying to cut spending by the federal government and asking families to expect to buy fewer dolls for their children as a result of Trump’s trade policy, making do with an older, less opulent plane might be a great way to tighten the belt and show leadership.

Turn down the Qatar gift, cancel the Boeing order for new Air Force One planes, and make do with what you’ve got. And if you really want to rack up some savings for the DOGE ledger, sell the existing Air Force One planes, fly commercial, and join me back in coach. I’ve got some lounge passes and free drink coupons that I can give to you—er, I mean, to the Department of Defense.

Rob Chesnut consults on legal and ethical issues and was formerly general counsel and chief ethics officer at Airbnb. He spent more than a decade as a Justice Department prosecutor and he writes on in-house, corporate, and ethics issues.

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