US President Donald Trump walks on stage to speak at a campaign rally at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport in Bullhead City, Arizona.
Trump recalls calling Qatar Emir “young, handsome guy” while asking to borrow his 747
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
US President Donald Trump told supporters this week that he personally called Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to request the temporary use of one of the Gulf nation’s Boeing 747 jets as a stand-in Air Force One, describing the leader in strikingly personal terms.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on Wednesday, Trump said the aging US presidential fleet prompted the outreach.
“So I called up the head of Qatar, a highly respected guy, great guy, young handsome guy,” he told the crowd.
Trump explained that the current Air Force One aircraft are roughly 35 years old and that new replacements from Boeing are not expected until around 2028.
He said he framed the request formally on behalf of the United States.
“I said, Tamim, if possible, on behalf of the United States of America, the Air Force, I’d love to be able to borrow or use your 747 as Air Force One for a little while while we wait for ours,” Trump recounted.
According to Trump’s account, the emir rejected the idea of a mere loan and instead offered the aircraft as an outright gift.
“He said, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no. You’re my friend. I will not allow you to borrow it to use it. I will allow you to, on behalf of the United States, have it. You may have it,’” Trump quoted the Qatari leader as saying.
Trump defended accepting the gift during the same Arizona rally and later in Montana, arguing that refusing such an offer would be unwise.
“When you’re given gifts, you take ’em, right?” he said.
“When they give you a 747, you say two words: ‘thank you.’”
He compared the situation to a golfer being given a putt, saying one simply accepts with gratitude.
The jet has been designated by the Air Force as VC-25B and is intended to serve as a bridge aircraft until the new presidential planes are ready.
The comments come more than a year after the plane was first discussed as a contribution from Qatar amid delays in Boeing’s production of the next-generation Air Force One fleet.
Trump has previously called the gesture a “very nice” one and praised the emir’s leadership on multiple occasions.
The aircraft, originally used by the Qatari royal family, has undergone extensive modifications for presidential use, including advanced security systems and a new paint scheme.
