President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at ABC News reporter Rachel Scott after she questioned whether a $400 million luxury jet donated by Qatar’s royal family to the Pentagon could be perceived as a personal gift to him.
The tense exchange with Scott, whose network recently paid $16 million to Trump as part of a defamation settlement, occurred during a signing ceremony at the White House, where the president praised the aircraft donation and dismissed any suggestion that it was inappropriate.
“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” Trump said.
“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 exchange with Scott quickly turned confrontational when she asked, “What do you say to people who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you?”
Trump fired back: “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 attempted to follow up by pointing out that some may view the situation through a business 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 began, before Trump cut her off again.
“It’s not a gift to me, it’s a gift to the Department of Defense,” Trump said. “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.”
Despite the administration’s insistence that the jet is a gesture of goodwill to the US government, ethics watchdogs have raised concerns about transparency and foreign influence, particularly given Qatar’s efforts to bolster its profile in Washington over the past decade.
The Pentagon is set to take possession of the aircraft, described as a lavish Boeing business jet, which Trump said comes with no strings attached.
Air Force One is a modified Boeing 747. Two exist, and the president flies on both, which are more than 30 years old.
Boeing has the contract to produce updated versions, but delivery has been delayed while the company has lost billions of dollars on the project.
Trump intends to convert the Qatari aircraft into a plane he can fly on as president, with the Air Force planning to add secure communications and other classified elements to it.
But it will still have more limited capabilities than the existing planes that were built to serve as Air Force One, as well as two other aircraft currently under construction, a former US official told AP.
ABC News was the first to report the donation, which has sparked questions about its purpose and the optics of such a high-value gift coming from a foreign monarchy with strong diplomatic ties to the Trump White House.
In December, ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos agreed to pay $16 million to resolve a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump against the Disney-owned network.
The lawsuit stemmed from a March 2024 broadcast where Stephanopoulos incorrectly stated that Trump had been found liable for rape in the civil case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.
In reality, the jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, but not rape.
