WASHINGTON – Former Vice President Mike Pence said it’s a “bad idea” for President Donald Trump to receive a luxury jet from Qatar, arguing that accepting the gift could be unconstitutional and jeopardize national security.
“There are profound issues – the potential for intelligence gathering, the need to ensure the president of the United States is safe and secure as he travels around the world,” Pence told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview released on May 16.
Accepting the plane “is inconsistent with our security, with our intelligence needs,” he added. “My hope is the president reconsiders it.”
Trump has said he plans to accept a Boeing 747-8 from the Qatari government that would be outfitted as the new Air Force One at an estimated cost of more than $1 billion. It would then be turned over to Trump’s foundation when he is no longer president.
The plane’s $400 million value itself would be the largest ever foreign gift to a U.S. president.
“Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done,” Trump wrote on Truth Social during a trip to the Middle East on May 14, the same day the White House announced that Qatar Airways would buy 200 jets from the U.S.-based Boeing.
Pence, who served as vice president during Trump’s first term, told NBC that Qatar “has a long history of playing both sides.”
“They support Hamas. They supported Al Qaeda,” he said.
He added that there are “very real constitutional issues,” including a section of the Constitution that directly bars federal officers from accepting “any present… of any kind whatever” from a foreign government.
“I think it’s just a bad idea, and my hope is the president will think better of it,” Pence said.
Pence and Trump’s relationship collapsed in January 2021 after Pence refused to halt the congressional process that formalized the results of the 2020 presidential election. On Jan. 6 that year, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building as the process was under way, with some explicitly calling for violence against Pence.
Pence, the former governor of Indiana, then ran against Trump in the 2023 presidential primary. However, he dropped out early in the race as he struggled in polls and with fundraising.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Pence: Donald Trump should not accept Qatari jet
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