On May 11, 2025, several mainstream news outlets reported that the nation of Qatar had offered U.S. President Donald Trump a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to be remodeled into a new Air Force One.
The claim also circulated widely on social media. Several viral posts alleged that the plane was a form of bribery, while others noted that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who reportedly approved acceptance of the offer, used to work as a lobbyist for Qatar's government. (She did, according to a November 2024 Semafor story.)
According to a post Trump made on his social media platform, Truth Social, and a comment Snopes received from an administration spokesperson, the claim is true — Qatar offered a Boeing 747, but for use by the Department of Defense
In February 2025, The New York Times published a story detailing a tour that Trump took of a Boeing 747-8 plane owned by the Qatari royal family. According to the story, Trump was frustrated over delays in acquiring two new Boeing 747s to be used as Air Force One. The plane from Qatar, according to the story, was a potentially faster way.
That possibility appeared to be significantly more likely after Trump's May 12 post on Truth Social responding to the reports. Trump said the "Defense Department [was] getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily."
The "temporarily" comment implied that the administration only plans on using the plane until the new ones come in from Boeing. According to the February New York Times article, the Air Force had already contractually committed to paying the aircraft manufacturer $3.5 billion of the $4.3 billion required for the new planes. Boeing is reportedly three years behind schedule.
In a news conference, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Qatar's gift would be "accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws," and that "President Trump's Administration is committed to full transparency." An administration spokesperson told Snopes that the plane would "not be presented nor accepted this week while [Trump is] in Qatar." (Trump went to the Middle East for a three-day tour on May 12.)
This is not the first 747 Qatar has offered to a foreign state — in 2018, the emir gifted a jet to Turkey, according to the BBC.