Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has drawn sharp criticism after publicly questioning President Donald Trump’s acceptance of a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One.
Critics quickly pointed to the Clinton Foundation’s own long history of accepting foreign donations.
“No one gives someone a $400 million dollar jet for free without expecting anything in return,” Clinton wrote on X regarding reports that Qatar provided a replacement for Air Force One. “Be serious.”
According to sources cited by ABC News, the Trump administration is in talks to accept the luxury jet, described as a “flying palace,” which would initially be transferred to the United States Air Force and modified to meet presidential transport specifications. Ownership would later transfer to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation by January 1, 2029.
Trump defended the arrangement on Truth Social, calling it a “GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE” and suggesting the “very public and transparent transaction” is beneficial to American taxpayers.
“Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done,” Trump wrote.
Clinton’s criticism prompted immediate responses highlighting the Clinton Foundation’s own acceptance of foreign donations during her tenure as Secretary of State.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-A.Z., responded, “Cry me a river @HillaryClinton. Tell that to the mega-donors, including Qatar, who gave hundreds of millions of $$ to the Clinton Foundation. Didn’t seem to bother you then.”
Indeed, in 2016 Reuters reported that the Clinton Foundation had confirmed accepting a $1 million gift from Qatar in 2011 to mark Bill Clinton’s 65th birthday while Hillary Clinton was serving as Secretary of State. The foundation did not inform the State Department about the donation, despite an ethics agreement Clinton signed when becoming Secretary of State in 2009.
That agreement required notification if foreign governments made new donations or “materially increased” existing support to avoid appearances that U.S. foreign policy could be influenced by donors.
According to the Reuters report, a Clinton Foundation spokesman claimed the donation did not amount to a “material increase” in Qatar’s support. The foundation’s website listed Qatar’s government as having donated between $1-5 million cumulatively over the years.
Beyond Qatar, the Clinton Foundation also accepted donations from other foreign governments including Saudi Arabia, which reportedly contributed $14.5 million, along with Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, each contributing between $1 and $5 million.
The State Department stated in 2016 that it had no record of the foundation submitting the Qatar gift for review, and foundation officials admitted they did not always comply with provisions of the ethics agreement, attributing some oversights to administrative errors.