U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is criticizing President Donald Trump for saying he would accept a luxury jumbo jet (valued at $400 million) as a gift from Qatar, and for reportedly accepting $2 billion from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) via the Trump cryptocurrency.
In the Oval Office today, when asked about ethical concerns regarding the acceptance of the plane from a foreign country, Trump said that only someone “stupid” would turn down such an offer.
BREAKING: Trump just melted down when asked if he’ll keep the $400M luxury plane Qatar is gifting him. “You’re ABC fake news. You should be embarrassed asking that question.” Classic Trump: caught red-handed, lashes out, hopes you won’t notice the crime. We noticed. pic.twitter.com/lW6TxapO52
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) May 12, 2025
He said: “I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’ But it was — I thought it was a great gesture.”
I will block any arms sale to a nation that is doing direct personal business with Trump. We should have a full Senate debate and vote.
UAE’s investment in Trump crypto and Qatar’s gifting of a plane is nuclear grade graft. An unacceptable corruption of our foreign policy.
— Chris Murphy
(@ChrisMurphyCT) May 12, 2025
Chris Murphy wrote on X: “I will block any arms sale to a nation that is doing direct personal business with Trump. We should have a full Senate debate and vote. UAE’s investment in Trump crypto and Qatar’s gifting of a plane is nuclear grade graft. An unacceptable corruption of our foreign policy.”
Note: Trump will visit Qatar and UAE this week, and is expected to announce arms sales in both nations.
Normally, arms sales go forward without a vote. But any Senator can object and force a full debate and Senate vote. I will do that for any military deal with a nation that is paying off Trump personally. We can’t act like this is normal foreign policy.
— Chris Murphy
Murphy added: “Normally, arms sales go forward without a vote. But any Senator can object and force a full debate and Senate vote. I will do that for any military deal with a nation that is paying off Trump personally. We can’t act like this is normal foreign policy.”