{"id":14411,"date":"2026-04-28T15:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T20:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whia.us\/?p=14411"},"modified":"2026-05-19T14:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:25:14","slug":"trump-laments-size-of-much-too-big-airplane-gifted-by-qatar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whia.us\/en\/14411\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump laments size of \u2018much too big\u2019 airplane gifted by Qatar"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Guardian – WHIA<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Story by\u00a0Lucy Campbell and Joanna Walters<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Donald Trump\u2019s big, beautiful new plane from the government of Qatar has arrived \u2013 but the US president has a problem with it.<\/p>\n

Not the smack of impropriety that comes with a US president\u00a0accepting<\/a> a luxury 747 jumbo jet from the Gulf state, intended as a replacement Air Force One \u2013 Trump has already brushed off any criticism on that front.<\/p>\n

Now that it\u2019s arrived in the US, Trump says it\u2019s too big. The Qataris have given the president a Boeing 747-8, a stretch model of the jumbo that is more than 18 ft longer than the much older 747-200B that flies as the current Air Force One.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, it\u2019s much too big,\u201d Trump told reporters during a question and answer media session in the Oval Office at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

He expanded. He called the new jet a \u201cbeautiful, big, magnificent, free airplane for the United States air force\u201d. But is apparently unhappy with its size, although he has not sought to answer the question, too big for what?<\/p>\n

The original offer from Qatar set off a firestorm of\u00a0criticism<\/a>\u00a0of Trump, from\u00a0both political parties<\/a>, particularly following his visit to the country earlier this month where he focused most vigorously on trade and business deals. US Senator Cory Booker and other prominent Democrats\u00a0slammed<\/a> the arrangement and Chris Murphy, the Connecticut senator, called the gift \u201cthe definition of corruption\u201d and \u201cwildly illegal\u201d.<\/p>\n

Asked on Wednesday if it is definitely going to become Air Force One, the official plane of the US president, Trump said only that the aircraft is in the US and \u201cis being re-fitted for military standard\u201d.<\/p>\n

He admitted he doesn\u2019t know how much the re-fitting will cost but guessed \u201ca hell of a lot less than building a new one\u201d. He again criticized Boeing, the troubled US aircraft manufacturer for delays in replacing the current jet used as Air Force One, which dates back to the early 1990s, apparently necessitating an expedited replacement from another country.<\/p>\n

The White House insists the jet is a gift to the country, not to Trump personally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The White House insists the jet is a gift<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":14412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[142,199,128],"tags":[],"series":[],"coauthors":[238],"class_list":["post-14411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-most-important-topics-en","category-top-stories","category-updates-en"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/whia.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/AA1FEPFl.jpeg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/whia.us\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/whia.us\/en\/feed\/podcast\/whia-synergy","embedCode":"

Trump laments size of \u2018much too big\u2019 airplane gifted by Qatar<\/a><\/blockquote>