Foreign gifts and family deals used to cloud President Trump’s first Mideast trip

A new plane “free of charge,” family business deals, and crypto investments in the Gulf monarchies are conjuring the specter of the Middle Eastern states trying to curry special favor, casting a shadow over President Donald Trump’s first visit to the region. 

The arrangements could be inflamed to provide fuel for yet another Democratic impeachment effort if the party reclaims Congress in the midterm elections, following the pattern set out by GOP impeachment investigators who targeted President Joe Biden.

In that instance, Hunter Biden was accused of influence-peddling using the family name in regions that the vice president oversaw. Those deals were lucrative for the former first son, netting millions over the years, mostly from controversial firms and businessmen in Ukraine and China.

The starting point 

"Resistance"-oriented politicians and news outlets have pounced on reports that the administration is planning to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet, currently owned by the royal family of Qatar, to use as the new Air Force One during President Trump's time in office. The report came just days before Trump touched down in Qatar where he signed commercial and military deals with its monarch, Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. 

Originally, the Wall Street Journal reported that the administration had contracted a U.S.-based defense firm to retrofit the Qatari jet to serve as the interim presidential plane as Boeing’s replacement aircraft continues to run behind schedule. However, after touring the Qatari plane in Florida in February, Trump suggested that he would buy a new plane, not receive one as a gift. 

Further complicating the appearance for the administration, the estimated $400 million gift to the Pentagon comes after the president’s family members executed business deals in the gulf monarchies, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. 

“Doing business in parts of the world where governments are deeply entangled with business provides avenues for foreign powers to curry favors with US politicians,” Peter Schweizer, the investigative reporter and author who first uncovered Hunter Biden’s business dealings, told Just the News. Schweizer writes extensively on political corruption, including the 2018 book “Secret Empires” that details how the children of powerful American political figures form businesses and succeed, in part, because people want to seek favor with their parents. 

Schweizer noted an important difference between the Trump children and the Hunter Biden case. The Biden family, he said, “had no legitimate business. They offered no real product or service.”

Meanwhile, “The Trumps have constructed projects around the world for decades, well before Donald Trump entered politics,” he explained. “Still this is not good or helpful.”

Qatari jet being given to USAF, not Trump himself

The news about the Qatari jet stirred up Democratic politicians in Washington and conservative allies alike. The jet will be a gift from the government of Qatar—a gulf monarchy neighboring Saudi Arabia known for its human rights abuses and harboring of terrorist groups—and will serve as the interim presidential plane, given to the USAF, who will oversee its retrofit to meet Air Force One standards. As Trump’s second term draws to a close, the administration will reportedly then donate it to President Trump’s presidential library at the conclusion of his term, ABC News wrote on Sunday. 

In a Truth Social post following the story, President Trump confirmed the administration was preparing to accept the gift, but did not address the plan to turn it over to his future library. 

“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,” Trump wrote. “Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.” 

Congressional Democrats immediately raised concerns that the proposed gift may violate the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which prohibits presidents from accepting gifts from foreign powers. 

The Constitution says, “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” 

The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News about the Qatari plane or the business dealings of the Trump children throughout the Gulf region. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an email statement to Axios that “any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws” and that the administration “is committed to full transparency.” 

When Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade questioned whether there is a danger the Qataris could consider this a quid pro quo, Leavitt discounted the concern, suggesting the president is immune to that kind of influence. 

“Do you worry that if they give us something like this, they want something in return?” Kilmeade asked.

“Absolutely not,” Leavitt said. “Because they know President Trump and they know he only works with the interests of the American public in mind.”

Democrats are not satisfied with that explanation. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., on Monday asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Pentagon Inspector General, and U.S. Office of Government Ethics in a letter for “an immediate ethics review” of the plan and issue an advisory opinion on whether the gift violates “federal ethics regulations and the Emoluments Clause.” 

“The American people are witnessing, in real time, what can only be described as a ‘flying grift,’” Torres wrote, setting up the rationale for a third Trump impeachment if Democrats reclaim the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. 

On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that he would place a hold on confirming all Trump nominees to the Department of Justice while he waits for the administration to answer a series of questions about the aircraft donation. He also called on Attorney General Pam Bondi, who reportedly oversaw the drafting of a memo approving the donation, to testify before the House and Senate about her conclusion that the donation does not violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. 

Several legacy media organizations published headlines implying that the gift was given to Trump himself, and buried deep in their stories is the fact that the plane is actually being given not to Trump, but to the Air Force.

Some Republicans also joined in, warning about the appearance of the gift. NPR reported that Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said "the move signals that Qatar is looking to get close to the U.S., but should instead be cutting ties with militant Islamic groups. He argued the president's plane should not come from a foreign nation." He added "I prefer a big, beautiful plane built in the United States, made in America, bought in America."

"The appearance of corruption alone screams, ‘Bad idea!’” Rep. Warren Davidson said in a post on X, not invoking the Qatari plane explicitly. 

Trump family deals contrast with Biden family activities

In the months leading up to and after the inauguration, President Trump’s adult children crisscrossed the region to hunt down new real estate projects, secure lucrative investments in their cryptocurrency business, and to speak to the Qataris about “Monetizing MAGA,” raising further concerns about potential conflicts of interest as the president conducts his first tour around the gulf. 

Eric Trump recently inked a deal with Dar Global to develop an 18-hole, luxury golf course in the Qatari capital of Doha in partnership with developer Qatari Diar. Dar Global—the international branch of Saudi luxury developer Dar Al Arkan—has been a long-time partner of the Trump organization in the Middle East, working with the firm on projects in countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 

The project is called Trump International Golf Club Simaisma and will feature the signature Trump golf course experience, including luxury villas and beach access in the upscale development north of Doha. Dar Global’s CEO called the project an “iconic development,” noting the power of the “Trump brand’s global prestige.” 

The Trump Organization also recently unveiled plans for a new Trump hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the company's first building in the country, also in partnership with Dar Global. “We are proud to expand our presence in the region further through the launch of our iconic Trump Tower Dubai in collaboration with the world-class luxury developer Dar Global,” Eric Trump said at the project’s announcement. 

In December 2024, the Trump Organization announced that it was partnering with Dar Global for a real estate project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At the same time, Eric Trump said that two further projects are under development in the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh—where Trump is set to touch down on Tuesday. 

The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News. 

Donald Trump Jr. is set to visit Qatar beginning on May 20 for the 2025 Qatar Economic Forum where he is set to speak alongside his business partner Omeed Malik. The pair run 1789 Capital, a firm dedicated to “funding the next chapter of American exceptionalism.” The original name of the panel was “Monetizing MAGA: Investing in Trump’s America,” according to an archived version of the forum’s website. 

However, the name was changed sometime after May 4 to simply “Investing in America.” Also removed was part of the description which referenced 1789 Capital's close proximity to the “epicenter of Trumpworld” at Mar-a-Lago. 

Trump Jr. said on Tuesday there is a clear difference between his business and Hunter Biden's. “I've been a businessman and serial investor my entire adult life. He became a ‘businessman’ after his dad got elected,” he wrote in a post to X.  “I joined a Venture Capital Firm that invests in private American companies - Nothing to do with the government. He sat on foreign boards and was peddling influence to the highest bidder to change government policy,” he added. 

The Trump family has also expanded a new cryptocurrency business to the region. The latest arrangement will reportedly benefit the president's personal finances directly.

On May 1, co-founders Eric Trump and Zach Witkoff—son of President Trump’s Middle East and Russia envoy Steve Witkoff—announced a major deal between their World Liberty Financial firm and MGX Fund Limited, an Emirati state-owned artificial intelligence firm, to issue a crypto coin pegged to the U.S. dollar that MGX would use to complete its $2 billion investment in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. 

The pair delivered the announcement at Token2049, a cryptocurrency conference held in the United Arab Emirates, which, through the deal, is entering into a direct financial relationship with a Trump family business. 

The president and his family members stand to benefit personally from the arrangement after a Trump family entity, DT Marks DeFi LLC, secured a 60% share in World Liberty Financial in January. Since securing a controlling stake, under the management of Donald Jr. and Eric, the firm has issued $550 million worth of new cryptocurrency, with revenue earmarked for the Trumps. Several foreign nationals have invested in the $WLFI coins, including Chinese-born billionaire and crypto firm founder Justin Sun, raising further foreign influence concerns. 

Qatari pours money into U.S. universities, Congress, even media

“Gulf governments likely see the presence of the Trump brand in their countries as a way to generate goodwill with the new administration,” Robert Mogielnicki, Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, D.C., told Al-Monitor. 

The region has taken center stage in President Trump’s efforts to contain the Iranian nuclear program and also in generating goodwill in an effort to solve the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, reignited by Hamas terrorist attacks nearly a year ago. At the center of these dynamics is Qatar, which has played an important role in facilitating backdoor negotiations between Israel and the United States on one hand and Hamas on the other.  

But, Qatar is at the epicenter of controversy in the United States after its apparent efforts to purchase significant influence among the U.S. political class and society through its funding of the university system. The Gulf state has also faced scrutiny for its history with both Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood movement in the Middle East. 

The small Middle Eastern country has poured money into the United States, almost $100 billion, targeting Congress, American higher education institutions, and news media, The Free Press recently reported. Just the News previously reported on a small part of this extensive spending by the Gulf regime. It is the largest spender on lobbying by far and a big contributor of donations and contracts with U.S. universities. 

Qatar’s royal family has long supported Hamas 'leadership in the Gaza Strip, sending financial aid and giving political support from abroad. Since 2018, Qatar has sent millions to Gaza to ostensibly pay for public sector wages and fuel for utilities, amounting to $30 million per month. 

Up until the October 7 attack on Israel, Hamas leadership also resided in the Qatari capital of Doha. Their presence in the country was first established by President Barack Obama who wished to use the terror group as a backchannel for diplomacy with Iran. However, as time went on and pressure grew, the Qataris did not expel the group from their country. After the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, Qatar’s foreign ministry released a statement that placed the blame squarely on Israel for the “ongoing escalation” in the Gaza Strip, instead of Hamas.

Qatar has also extensively supported the Muslim Brotherhood movement, through financial assistance, media support of its Al-Jazeera newspaper, and diplomatic assistance. The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist movement that seeks to implement Sharia law in society. A presidential candidate affiliated with the group briefly held office in Egypt following the Arab Spring, but was removed by a military coup. The Muslim Brotherhood is labeled a terrorist group by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 

During his first term, President Trump explicitly warned the Doha Emir to halt his support for terrorist groups. “The nation of Qatar has, unfortunately, been a funder of terrorism at a very high level,” the president said in 2017. “We have to stop the funding of terrorists... They have to end that funding.”