I hate terror-supporting Middle Eastern countries as much as the next guy, but if we’re asking what the law says about the gift of a “palace in the sky” from Qatar, what the president should do and what he is legally allowed to do are not the same thing.
This is not Trump’s first brush with the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. During his first presidential term, he faced lawsuits about accepting payments from officials of foreign and state governments who stayed at Trump-owned hotels. The Supreme Court threw out those cases in 2021 because Trump was no longer in office.
Now the president is reportedly planning to accept a 747-8 jumbo jet that would be retrofitted for use as Air Force One and then transferred to Trump’s presidential library. If it happens, would this be a breach of the Emoluments Clause?
As bad a move as it might be, the Air Force One part of this proposal is probably lawful. But the presidential library part? Probably unlawful. Let me explain.