Скачать или смотреть Donald Trump visiting the Middle East in one of his first presidential overseas visit

(ASSOCIATED PRESS) For President Donald Trump, accepting a free Air Force One replacement from Qatar is a no-brainer.

“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” the Republican told reporters on Monday. “I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”

Critics of the plan worry that the move threatens to turn a global symbol of American power into an airborne collection of ethical, legal, security and counterintelligence concerns.

“This is unprecedented," said Jessica Levinson, a constitutional law expert at Loyola Law School. "We just haven’t tested these boundaries before.”

Trump tried to tamp down some of the opposition by saying he wouldn't fly around in the gifted Boeing 747 when his term ends. Instead, he said, the $400 million plane would be donated to a future presidential library, similar to how the Boeing 707 used by President Ronald Reagan was decommissioned and put on display as a museum piece.

“It would go directly to the library after I leave office," Trump said. "I wouldn’t be using it.”

However, that did little to quell the controversy over the plane. Democrats are united in outrage, and even some of the Republican president's allies are worried. Laura Loomer, an outspoken conspiracy theorist who has tried to purge disloyal officials from the administration, wrote on social media that she would "take a bullet for Trump” but said she's “so disappointed.”

Congressional Republicans have also expressed some doubts about the plan.

“My view is that it would be better if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America. That would be ideal,” said Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.

And Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul flatly said he was a “No” on whether Trump should accept the plane. When asked to elaborate on his reasoning, Paul replied: “I don’t think it looks good or smells good.” The Republican shrugged when asked by a reporter if there were “constitutional questions.”

Trump will likely face persistent questions about the plane in the coming days as he travels to the Middle East, including a stop in Qatar.

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