One X user wrote: "So let me get this straight the plane that was a gift from Qatar was actually a conversation that was started a year ago by the Biden administration with the Qataris? You literally can't make this stuff up."
The claims circulated alongside a video of U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin,
The claim was most popular on X (archived) but also appeared on Facebook (archived), Threads (archived) and TikTok (archived).
However, it remained unclear whether Mullin's claim was true. Mullin didn't mention the Biden administration's involvement in discussions around the gifted plane in an interview the day before he appeared on "The Lead" or in a video (archived) posted on his X profile a few days after, which discussed the plane. A spokesperson from Mullin's office told Fox News Mullin learned of the alleged Biden administration involvement during a "recent conversation" with Qatari officials.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani did not mention any Biden administration involvement with discussions during a recent interview with Fox News.
We reached out to the Department of Defense and the Qatari Government Communications Center to ask if they could confirm Mullin's claim. The Department of Defense referred us to the White House, which we contacted to ask the same question. We will update this story if we receive a response.
Seeing as the claim related to the Biden administration, we also reached out, through associated organizations, to former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his deputy secretaries David Nordquist and Kathleen Hicks to ask if they could confirm whether discussions around Qatar's offer of a Boeing 747 to the Department of Defense started during their time in office. We reached out to Mullin's office to ask the senator to elaborate on how he backed his claim. We await replies to our queries.
Tracking Mullin's claim
On May 18, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent repeated Mullin's claim on NBC's "Meet the Press" (time-code 25:12), referencing the senator's CNN interview. We reached out to the Treasury to ask how they knew Mullin's claim was true and await a reply.
Mullin didn't clarify how he knew that negotiations for the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747 started under the Biden administration during his May 14 CNN appearance. Notably, when CNN quizzed several Oklahoma Republicans about reports of the gifted plane on May 13 — the day before Mullin appeared on "The Lead" — Mullin made no mention of his claim that negotiations started under Biden.
In a video discussing Trump's trade deals on his tour of the Middle East and the Qatari plane offer posted to X on May 17, Mullin dismissed concerns about the U.S. receiving the plane but didn't repeat his May 14 claim.
According to a spokesperson for Mullin's office cited in a Fox News report, Mullin learned about the Biden administration's involvement in the discussions around gifting the Boeing 747 after he was privy to "a recent conversation with the Qataris." Snopes has not independently verified this statement.
That same report featured a Fox News interview with
Al-Thani also said (time code 03:30): "It's really unfair accusations for Qatar is trying to buy influence. Throughout the last 25 years or 30 years you will see — you will find Qatar always by the side of the U.S. in many areas, in many things."
The U.S. Air Force signed a contract with Boeing in 2018, during Trump's first presidential term, to deliver two "presidential, mission ready aircraft" by 2024. According to a February 2025 New York Times report, Boeing was at least three years behind schedule.
Trump said on Truth Social on May 12, 2025, that the plane from the Qataris would "replace, the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily," indicating that it could be a holdover until Boeing delivers the contracted aircraft.
Snopes previously reported that the Trump administration confirmed it received an offer from Qatar for a Boeing 747-8 for use as Air Force One.