This is an opinion cartoon.

The Constitution (Article I, Section 9) prohibits anyone in the US Government from receiving a personal gift from a foreign head of state without the consent of Congress.

The luxury Boeing 747 is not a gift to America from Qatar. It’s a gawdy grift plane to Trump. A bribe. It’s just plane ol’ corruption.

Trump is giddy to replace the 40 year-old Air Force One with this new golden hog ‘flying palace.’

Since Trump likes to rename things, let’s call his new $400 million toy ‘Air Farce One.’

Excerpts from Howard Koplowitz’s AL.com report:

President Donald Trump turned to social media to defend Qatar offering him a 747 aircraft to be used as Air Force One, saying “crooked Democrats” opposed to the gift are “world class losers.”

The ruling family of Qatar is set to give Trump the 747-8 jumbo jet during his trip to the Middle East this week, according to the Associated Press, and U.S. officials say it could be converted into a potential presidential aircraft.

ABC News, which broke the story, reported the aircraft has an estimated value of about $400 million and is sometimes called a “flying palace.”

The Qatari government said a final decision hadn’t been made. Still, Trump defended the idea — what would amount to a president accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from a foreign government — as a fiscally smart move for the country.

Several Trump critics blasted the president for his intent on accepting the gift, claiming it violates the emoluments clause of the Constitution preventing him from profiting off of his presidency.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., tweeted that accepting the gift is tantamount to “corruption.”

Schiff’s tweet:

“Article I, Section 9, Clause 8:“no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. Seems pretty clear that a $400 million “air palace” from a foreign emir qualifies. The corruption is brazen.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., agreed.

“Accepting a free plane from Qatar isn’t just outrageous, it’s corruption, plain and simple,” he tweeted. “Anything less is a flagrant violation of the President’s oath of office and a profound betrayal of the public’s trust.”

Read all of Koplowitz’s report here.

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JD Crowe is the cartoonist for AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix. Give him a holler at [email protected].