A gift to a person, or the people

President Trump made a recent four-day trip to a few countries in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Several deals were made. Boeing scored some big sales, there were billions of dollars in U.S.-made weapons sales, and some deals regarding oil.

While in Qatar, the president was gifted a Boeing 747-8 by the royal family. The aircraft has been for sale by the royal family for five years. It was registered as A7-HBJ. Today, it appears to be registered as PH-HBJ. It was built and delivered by Boeing in 2012.

Apparently, President Trump wants to accept the aircraft and use it as a temporary Air Force One. Meanwhile, Boeing has been outfitting two newer 747 variants to proper U.S. Air Force specifications for a while now, saying it can deliver them in 2027. The Qatar 747 would likely be laid up for a while. The amount of time to refit the aircraft to meet U.S. Air Force, presidential security, and communications standards has not been mentioned by the White House.

President Trump equated the aircraft to the gift from France — the gift of the Statue of Liberty. Here is where there is friction. You see, the French gifted “Liberty Enlightening the World,” also known as the Statue of Liberty, to the People of the United States, not a specific person.

Now, Congress will have to struggle with the problematic issue of this gift, if they choose to do so. It has to be determined how this gift falls within the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. That clause prohibits federal officials, including the president, from accepting gifts from foreign states without congressional consent.

If Congress says yes to the Qatar 747 as a gift to the people of the United States, and not the president, then this story takes an unexpected twist. So, what to do with it? Can it be used by the U.S. Air Force to fly the people’s Commander and Chief around without an Air Force approved security retrofit? Maybe the aircraft can be used as a start-up for the future People’s Airline. Or, should it be put on a pedestal on an island, like Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Good luck Congress, the people you work for are watching.