Sources contradict Trump narrative about Qatar offering plane as ‘gift’ | CNN Politics

The Trump administration first approached Qatar to inquire about acquiring a Boeing 747 that could be used as Air Force One by President Donald Trump, four sources familiar with the discussions told CNN. That’s contrary to the narrative from the president that Qatar reached out and offered the jet as a “gift” to him.

After Trump took office in January, the Pentagon contacted Boeing and was told the company would not be able to deliver the new jets it was building to replace the aging presidential planes for another two years, the sources said.

The Trump administration, however, wanted a replacement plane much faster, and the Air Force was exploring different options for doing so. At the same time, Trump tasked his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff with finding a list of viable planes, a senior White House official told CNN.

After the Pentagon’s initial engagement with the company, Boeing provided US defense officials with a list of other Boeing clients around the world with planes that could work in the meantime, three of the sources said.

“And Qatar was one of the clients,” the second source familiar with the discussions said, adding the Pentagon “offered to buy the plane” and Qatar indicated it was willing to sell it.

The Pentagon had launched the discussions with Qatar after learning that the White House supported the idea, the third source familiar said, and Witkoff helped facilitated the initial conversations, the White House official said.

The third source recalled that the initial discussions were about leasing the plane, rather than buying it outright.,