President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at ABC Information reporter Rachel Scott after she questioned whether or not a $400 million luxurious jet donated by Qatar’s royal household to the Pentagon could possibly be perceived as a private reward to him.
The tense change with Scott, whose community not too long ago paid $16 million to Trump as a part of a defamation settlement, occurred throughout a signing ceremony on the White Home, the place the president praised the plane donation and dismissed any suggestion that it was inappropriate.
“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” Trump stated.
“I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’ But I thought it was a great gesture.”
The change with Scott shortly turned confrontational when she requested, “What do you say to people who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you?”
Trump fired again: “You’re ABC fake news, right? Only ABC — well, a few of you would … Let me tell you, you should be embarrassed asking that question. They’re giving us a free jet. I could say, ‘No, no no, don’t give us. I want to pay you a billion, or 400 million, or whatever it is.’ Or I could say thank you very much.”
Scott tried to comply with up by stating that some could view the state of affairs by means of a enterprise lens.
“Respectfully, sir, as a businessman, some people may look at this and say, have you ever been given a gift worth millions of dollars and then not –” she started, earlier than Trump lower her off once more.
“It’s not a gift to me, it’s a gift to the Department of Defense,” Trump stated. “And you should know better, because you’ve been embarrassed enough, and so has your network. Your network is a disaster. ABC is a disaster.”
Regardless of the administration’s insistence that the jet is a gesture of goodwill to the US authorities, ethics watchdogs have raised issues about transparency and international affect, notably given Qatar’s efforts to bolster its profile in Washington over the previous decade.
The Pentagon is ready to take possession of the plane, described as a lavish Boeing enterprise jet, which Trump stated comes with no strings connected.
Air Power One is a modified Boeing 747. Two exist, and the president flies on each, that are greater than 30 years previous.
Boeing has the contract to supply up to date variations, however supply has been delayed whereas the corporate has misplaced billions of {dollars} on the challenge.
Trump intends to transform the Qatari plane right into a aircraft he can fly on as president, with the Air Power planning so as to add safe communications and different labeled components to it.
However it is going to nonetheless have extra restricted capabilities than the prevailing planes that had been constructed to function Air Power One, in addition to two different plane presently beneath building, a former US official informed AP.
ABC Information was the primary to report the donation, which has sparked questions on its function and the optics of such a high-value reward coming from a international monarchy with sturdy diplomatic ties to the Trump White Home.
In December, ABC Information and anchor George Stephanopoulos agreed to pay $16 million to resolve a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump towards the Disney-owned community.
The lawsuit stemmed from a March 2024 broadcast the place Stephanopoulos incorrectly acknowledged that Trump had been discovered chargeable for rape within the civil case introduced by author E. Jean Carroll.
In actuality, the jury discovered Trump chargeable for sexual abuse and defamation, however not rape.
