Donald Trump has claimed it would be “stupid” not to accept the gift of a free Qatari plane to replace Air Force One, with the jet already in the US, according to flight tracking data.
Despite concerns raised over the president accepting the $400m (£303m) gift, Mr Trump told reporters on Monday: “I think it’s a great gesture from Qatar.”
Image: The Boeing jet that Mr Trump toured back in February after it took off from an airport in Florida.
Pic: AP/Ben Curtis
He added: “I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer.
“I mean, I could be a stupid person saying: ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane’.”
The jet is currently sitting at San Antonio International Airport, according to tracking data, Sky News’ US partner NBC News reported, adding it has been parked there since 3 April.
It is the same plane the US leader toured at Palm Beach International Airport on 15 February.
Friendly fire
Critics of the plan have warned that the move threatens to turn a global symbol of American power into an airborne collection of ethical, legal, security and counterintelligence concerns.
In an effort to cut off some opposition, Mr Trump said he would not keep the plane after his term finished, instead donating it to a future presidential library.
However, that has done little to quell anger, which has even come from within the Republican party.
Image: Mr Trump’s motorcade parked next to the Qatari-owned Boeing 747-8 when the US president toured it in February.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
“My view is that it would be better if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America. That would be ideal,” said senator Josh Hawley.
Senator Rand Paul, when asked whether Mr Trump should accept the plane, simply said: “No.”
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Some of the most vocal members of his MAGA group of supporters, including Ben Shapiro and Laura Loomer, have voiced their opposition to the move in a rare show of dissent to the president they usually back so vociferously.
Mr Trump will likely face questions over the plane in the coming days as he travels to the Middle East, including a stop in Qatar.
Inside the ‘palace in the sky’
The following images are from inside the Boeing 747-8 that Mr Trump is pushing to accept.
It shows the luxury jet before any potential refitting it might undergo in the hands of the US president.
Image: Inside the Qatari plane Mr Trump wants to use as a replacement for Air Force One.
Pic: Amac Aerospace
Image: Pic: Amac Aerospace
Image: Pic: Amac Aerospace
The 78-year-old has previously complained about Boeing taking too long to deliver the new Air Force One planes commissioned during his first term.
The current Air Force One planes were built from scratch near the end of the Cold War and host a range of improved security features, including being hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast and hosting a vast communications suite.
A former US official briefed on the replacement project said there would be no time to add the full host capabilities to the Qatari replacement plane.
There are fears Mr Trump would be compromising security by rushing to modify the replacement jet.
William Evanina, who served as director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center during Mr Trump’s first term, said checking the Qatari plane for surveillance devices alone would “take years”.
Others have also questioned what it means for the sitting president to accept such an expensive gift.
Donald Trump has waded into the debate surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad.
The American Eagle ad, which features the 27-year-old actress, who starred in the HBO series Euphoria and White Lotus, has the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”.
It has sparked a debate in the US over race and Western beauty standards.
Image: One of the Sydney Sweeney jeans ads. Pic: AP
In a Truth Social post, the US president described it as the “hottest ad out there”.
Hailing Sweeney as a “registered Republican”, he said the jeans are “flying off the shelves”, adding: “Go get ’em Sydney!”
Most of the criticism of the ad has centred on videos using the word “genes” instead of “jeans”, with one in which Sweeney says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.”
Critics argued the play on words potentially promotes eugenics, a discredited theory that believed humanity could be improved through the selective breeding of certain traits.
But others have defended the ad, saying the critics are reading too much into its message.
The video appeared on American Eagle’s Facebook page and other social media channels, but is not part of the ad campaign.
In a statement on Instagram on Friday, American Eagle Outfitters said the campaign “is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Stocks in American Eagle Outfitters jumped by 23.3% after Mr Trump’s intervention.
They say all publicity is good publicity, and Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad is certainly notching up the column inches, especially now Donald Trump has intervened.
The US president must have been breathlessly excited when he found out Sweeney was a registered Republican because he wrote a Truth Social post in support of her before deleting it twice and reposting three times to correct various spelling and grammatical errors.
He clearly could not wait to get involved in the discourse.
“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there,” he wrote. “Go get ’em Sydney!”
In any other era, the president weighing in so heavily on one side of a pop culture issue would’ve been unusual.
But the current president knows people are talking about the ad around their dinner tables and at parties right now. By injecting himself into the discussion, they will now be talking about him too.
In his Truth Social post, which he reposted three times to fix various typos, Mr Trump compared the ad with “woke” ones “on the other side of the ledger” – as he criticised other companies, as well as hitting out at Taylor Swift.
“The tide has seriously turned – Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be,” he wrote.
Sky News has contacted Sweeney’s agent for comment.
Soulja Boy has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm during a traffic stop.
The rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was a passenger in the car that was stopped in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles early on Sunday morning, the LAPD said.
“A passenger was detained and police arrested DeAndre Cortez Way for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm,” the statement added.
Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is a felony.
The 35-year-old was booked into jail in the LAPD’s Wilshire Division shortly after 6am. It is not clear if he has since been released.
Police did not provide information on what prompted the traffic stop and who else was in the vehicle with Way.
Soulja Boy is yet to publicly comment on the incident.
Soulja Boy is best known for his 2007 hit Crank That, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and landed him a nomination for best rap song at the Grammys.
The rapper was arrested and charged with a felony in 2014 for carrying a loaded gun during a traffic stop in LA.
In April this year, the Chicago hip-hop artist was ordered to pay more than $4m (£3m) in damages to his former assistant after being found liable for sexually assault, as well as physically and emotionally abusing them.
Police in Tennessee have discovered 14 improvised explosive devices in a man’s home as they were arresting him, the local sheriff’s office said.
Officers were executing a warrant in the home of Kevin Wade O’Neal in Old Fort, about 45 miles (70km) east of Chattanooga, after he had threatened to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in Polk County.
After arresting the 54-year-old, officers noticed “something smouldering” in the bedroom where he was found.
Image: Kevin Wade O’Neal. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
On closer inspection, they discovered an improvised explosive device and evacuated the house until bomb squad officers arrived at the scene.
Fourteen devices were found inside the property – none of which detonated.
Image: Improvised explosive devices were found in Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Image: Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home in Old Fort, Tennessee. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
O’Neal was charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, corresponding to nine officers and two other people inside the property when the suspect tried to detonate the devices.
He also faces 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.