Comedian Bill Maher slammed President Donald Trump on Friday night for his plans to accept a Boeing 747 from the Qatari royal family following the commander-in-chief’s trip to the Middle East this week.
“You know, when you travel, you like to leave with a souvenir, right? So he got a $400 million plane,” said Maher. “They gave him a $400 million plane, which he accepted.”
Trump has faced widespread criticism for being willing to accept the jet from the Qataris, with the president previously saying that it would be “stupid” not to accept it.
“This has to be the ultimate ‘If Obama did it,’” said Maher. Trump critics often note the outrage that would come from Republicans had a Democratic president, particularly Barack Obama, taken a fraction of Trump’s controversial decisions.
“If Obama did it, Fox News would be endlessly calling it ‘Allah Force One,’” said Maher, adding that the plane would need such extensive updates and additions to meet the required security standards that it’s unlikely Trump will be able to use in the time he has left in the White House.
“So then it would have to be private, which would be illegal, but you know it doesn’t matter,” said Maher.
The comedian noted that the Qatari jet would be his fourth plane, while children may get fewer toys for Christmas due to Trump’s tariff policy.
“Trump says he will not be using [the plane] when he leaves office, and people don’t believe that,” said Maher. “Not the ‘using it’ part, the ‘leaving office’ part. But, okay, so Trump now has four planes.”
“He’s got the two Air Force Ones that the government provides,” he added. “Then he’s got his own plane. Now he’s got this one. Four planes, yet everybody else, still only three dolls and 10 pencils.”
Trump has claimed that the plane will be gifted to the Department of Defence, but Reuters noted that it will later be handed to Trump’s presidential library. The plane would be one of the most valuable gifts ever given to the U.S. government. Republicans and Democrats have criticised the president for being willing to accept it.
The president defended the decision during a Fox News interview on Friday.
“I just want to say, it was a radical left story,” he claimed. “The people here, to show you how crazy it is, they would like me to pay a billion dollars.”
“I made a good deal,” Trump argued, citing the Air Force One on display at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California.
“This goes to the United States Air Force for whoever is president, and at some point, it’ll be like Ronald Reagan. It’ll be decommissioned, because they won’t want it,” said Trump.
The president criticized Boeing for being “very late” in delivering the new Air Force Ones. Construction on the planes currently used by the president began during Reagan’s time in office.
“We need a plane for a couple of years before we get the other ones, because Boeing is very late,” Trump told Fox News. “They should be able to knock them off in no time.”
