The South African president has called out Donald Trump with a dig about his $400 million ‘flying palace’ present.
Earlier this month, Trump confirmed he was set to receive a gift unlike any sitting US president before – a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the Qatar royal family that is so luxurious, it has been dubbed a ‘palace in the sky.’
The move ignited bipartisan criticism and sparked concerns that accepting the gift would contravene the US constitution and amount to bribery from a foreign power.
Yet despite the backlash, the Trump administration accepted it this week with plans to use it as a new Air Force One – the military jet that transports the president.
The Trump administration has confirmed the jet will be modified to become the new Air Force One (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Now it appears the decision has rustled feathers across the world too with the South African president taking the chance to make a dig about it while in a heated meeting on Wednesday (May 21).
Meeting in the Oval Office, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa had a bewildering discussion with Trump as the POTUS rambled about disproven conspiracy theories, alleging that white farmers in the country have become the victims of a genocide.
Trump continued in his rant that the ‘fake news’ media was more interested in reporting on his lavish $400 million plane than the alleged race-based murders in South Africa, to which Ramaphosa had a somewhat tongue-in-cheek resp
The POTUS insisted on peddling the conspiracy theory to the bewilderment of Ramaphosa (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“I’m sorry, I didn’t have a plane to give you,” he said, to which Trump replied: “I wish you did. I would take it.
“If your country offered the United States Air Force a plane, I would take it.”
Racing to social media, many said Trump’s response gave some ‘disturbing’ insight into the administration.
“That’s a really disturbing way of saying ‘I can be bought. America can be bought. I wish you could afford to buy me’,” one said on Reddit.
Another wrote: “This is actually a truly ‘mask off’ moment… Disgusting and I hope the MAGA nuts see how wrong this is.”
The bizarre exchange came as the Trump appeared to ambush Ramaphosa, claiming ‘people are fleeing South Africa for their own safety’.
The meeting took an even darker turn when Trump dimmed the lights to play an anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer.
At one point, Trump held up articles alleging state-sanctioned violence against white farmers (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The video, made by South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, also included alleged footage of white crucifixes, alluding to murdered white farmers.
“Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed,” Trump added before going to accuse the state of sanctioning violence against white people.
But Ramaphosa did not entertain the theory and set the record straight, saying EFF’s song is considered controversial in South Africa. A court ruled that the song cannot be banned as a reasonable person would know it’s ‘not meant to be understood literally’.
“We are completely opposed to that,” Ramaphosa stated, adding that his government is ‘completely, completely against what he was saying.’
He also encouraged his US counterpart to actually ‘listen’ to the ‘voices of South Africans’.
At one point, South African businessman Johann Rupert interrupted to tell the president that while it’s agreed the country has ‘too many deaths’, they are ‘across the board.’
Johann Rupert, founder and chairman of Cie Financiere Richemont SA, also appeared to challenge the theory (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“It’s not only white farmers. It’s across the board,” he said.
Meanwhile, farmers in the country’s largest agricultural expo denied anti-white violence, as have the South African courts.
But that hasn’t stopped Trump from peddling the narrative alongside his South African ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk, and even going so far as to grant refugee status to more than 50 white South Africans.
Trump has also reportedly prohibited the government from participating in this year’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, although Ramaphosa said after their meeting he expects Trump to be there.
People point out major issue as Trump reportedly preparing to accept ‘$400,000,000 palace in the sky’ as gift
The POTUS is set to receive one of the most valuable gifts ever
People are pointing out there could be a major issue if the president is to accept a ‘palace in the sky’ as a gift.
The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to accept an insanely pricey, first-of-its-kind gift given to the US from a foreign government.
The luxurious Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet, that comes in at $400 million with the nickname of a ‘flying palace’, is apparently due to be handed over to the POTUS from the royal family of Qatar.
According to ABC News, Donald Trump will be able to use the plane as its new Air Force One jet until he leaves office, where it is tipped to transfer ownership into the Trump Presidential Library Foundation.
The new jet could replace Air Force One (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The 13-year-old aircraft will apparently be modified to meet US military criteria to transport the president and transferred to the presidential library before January 1, 2029.
Any costs associated with the transfer will also allegedly be covered by the US Air Force.
It is anticipated the grand gift will be unveiled next week when the president visits Qatar, according to sources who have been briefed in on the plans.
Trump has toured the plane before when it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport, Florida, in February.
However, the present is bound to raise questions over the ethics of the sitting president accepting such a valuable item from a foreign power, particularly with concerns over possible bribery.
Dozens on Reddit say their employment contracts prohibit them from accepting gifts of major value, with some saying they can’t take anything worth more than $50 worth a year.
The gift would have to be modified to meet US military standards (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Another Redditor said they work ‘federal adjacent’ and have a limit of $25 a year – meaning one time they had to refuse a $28 t-shirt from a supplier.
Others slammed the lavish gift as ‘bribery on the highest scale’.
“Nothing says American exceptionalism like not being able to build our own AF-1. Nothing says MAGA failure like actually accepting this as a gift,” they added.
Anticipating such backlash, sources told the news outlet that lawyers for the White House counsel’s office and the Department of Justice have already been drafted in.
Under the advice, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly to conclude that it is legal to accept the mega-jet as a gift and later hand it over to the Trump library.
It will also state that doing so does not violate any bribery laws or the Constitution’s prohibition of any US government official accepting gifts ‘from any King, Prince or foreign state’.
Sources added Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump’s own top White House lawyer David Warrington concluded it would be legally permission to receive it and transfer it to Trump’s presidential library before the end of his term.
Both the White House and the DOJ determine that, since the gift is not conditioned on any official act, it bypasses such clauses about bribery – and cannot breach the rule about foreign gifts because the plane is being given to the US Air Fore rather than any specific individual.
UNILAD has contacted the White House for comment.
Trump defends ‘free $400,000,000 palace in the sky’ gift despite morality concerns
Trump’s response to the backlash? Why, it’s the Democrats being ‘World Class Losers’ of course.
Donald Trump has hit out at the ‘crooked Democrats’ in his defense against being potentially set to receive a $400 million jumbo jet from Qatar.
This upcoming week, Trump is set to visit the Middle East, going to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, alongside talking about the Saudi investment in the US and Iran’s nuclear program.
Alongside reportedly having plans to announce the US’ change in what it calls the Gulf of Persia, Trump is also rumored to receive a gift.
American officials claim the ruling family of Qatar are set to give the POTUS a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet – a gift reportedly worth a whopping $400,000,000 which has, unsurprisingly, provoked backlash online.
President Donald Trump establishes ‘Project Homecoming’
Credit: YouTube/The White House
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Nicknamed the ‘flying palace,’ the jet is anticipated as being used by Trump as the new Air Force One jet – the 13-year-old aircraft modified to meet US military criteria.
It’s reported it will be used by Trump until he leaves office and after Trump’s second term as president comes to an end – or will it? – the jet is expected to transfer to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation, before January 1, 2029 ABC News reports.
Any costs associated with the transfer will also allegedly be covered by the US Air Force.
While the Qatari government has stated a final decision on whether the gift will be issued has not yet been made, however, that hasn’t stopped people from speaking out online – many drawing on the US Constitution’s Emoluments Clause which bars anyone holding government office from accepting any present from any foreign state without congressional consent.
Trump’s response? Well, the POTUS took to Truth Social earlier today (May 12), to write: “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 has hit back at any criticism of him receiving a gift (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.”
Trump’s post follows a statement issued by Qatar’s media attache, Ali Al-Ansari.
Al-Ansari said: “[The] possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s ministry of defence and the US department of defence.
“But the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made.”
Trump brutally calls out famous businessman for taking ‘fat shot drug’ as he reveals pricing plans
People have been left speculating who the ‘overweight’ and ‘very rich’ businessman is…
Donald Trump has called out a ‘neurotic’ businessman for taking a ‘fat shot drug’ while revealing his plans to slash the price of prescription drugs.
The president dug up a rather bizarre anecdote when he announced his administration’s new plan to inflict price controls on American medications on Monday (May 12), that could see prescriptions drop by 80 percent while cranking up export restrictions and yet more tariffs on foreign drugmakers.
Trump said he was inspired to make the change after hearing about the low costs of weight loss drugs in the UK from a friend.
Although the purpose of his announcement from the Roosevelt Room of the White House was to reveal his grand plan to slash drugs prices, the internet has been sent into a frenzy over his cut-throat comments that called out his unnamed buddy for being overweight.
Trump said there would be punishments for countries that don’t cut the costs (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“A friend of mine who’s a business man, very, very, very top guy… Most of you would have heard of him. Highly neurotic, brilliant businessman, seriously overweight,” Trump began. “And he takes the ‘fat shot drug’.”
“He called me up and he said, ‘President,’ he calls me, he used to call me Donald… So that’s a nice respect. But he’s a rough guy. Smart guy, very successful, very rich… [He said] ‘President could I ask you a question? I’m in London and I just paid for this damn fat drug I take.’ I said, ‘It’s not working.'”
The 78-year-old continued: “He said, ‘I just paid $88 and in New York I pay 1,300 dollars. What the hell is going on?'”
Trump said the price discrepancy prompted him to confront a pharmaceutical company rep and accused companies of ‘justifying this crap for years’.
He said he found out the US charges higher based on research and development costs, adding: “Well… other countries should pay research and development, too. It’s for their benefit … so for the first time in many years, we’ll slash the cost of prescription drugs, and we will bring fairness to America.”
He signed an executive order to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for US consumers by 80 percent (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
To this end, he signed an executive order that demands drug manufacturers charge US citizens the same price for drugs as the lowest-paying developed countries – or face punishment.
The Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative have also been drafted in to investigate foreign countries ‘that extort drug companies by blocking their products unless they accept the bottom line and very low dollar amounts for their product,’ Trump continued.
he president is spending four days in the Middle East where it is expected he will receive an unprecedented gift (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
He said this ‘discriminatory’ practice has been ‘unfairly shifting the cost burden onto American patients‘ and, in true Trump tariff threatening style, said he would simply axe American imports of non-pharmaceutical products from abroad until those governments agree to pay higher prices, citing countries from the European Union as examples.
“The biggest thing we’re going to do is we’re going to tell those countries, like those represented by the European Union, that, you know, that game is up. Sorry.
“And if they want to get cute, then they don’t have to sell cars into the United States anymore,” he added.
His comments came just before the POTUS jetted off to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, for his four-day trip where it is anticipated he will be receive a $400 million ‘flying palace‘, a luxurious Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar’s royal family, in a first-of-a-kind lavish present ever given to the US from a foreign government.