President Donald Trump’s commitment to transfer Qatar’s newly gifted Air Force One to his presidential library after his second term ends appears to have been backtracked on.
In May 2025, Trump promised that the $400 million luxury jet would be decommissioned after his term wraps up and displayed at the library that his son, Eric Trump, is developing in Miami.
In an update this week, Eric Trump said bringing the Qatar jet to the presidential library “is not the plan at the moment.” He indicated that an older, decommissioned Air Force One would be put on display, in a text message to NBC News.
Following Eric Trump’s comments, a White House official told the Washington Examiner that “no final decision has been made yet” about the future of the new Air Force One.
Qatar gifted the Boeing 747 luxury jet to the Pentagon in 2025, and it was converted for use as the new Air Force One, after Boeing’s work to build a similar new aircraft for the government faced costly delays. Trump took his first ride in the plane on July 1.
Trump said Qatar gifted the plane to the U.S. government after finding out about Boeing’s delays in delivering the new Air Force One aircraft. During a May 12, 2025, press conference at the White House, Trump said he would not use the plane after he leaves office and that it would go to his future presidential library.
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“I could be a stupid person, say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane,’” the president said. “But I thought it was a great gesture, and I think it was a gesture because of the fact that we have helped and will continue to [help] all of those countries: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and others. We keep them safe. If it wasn’t for us, they probably wouldn’t exist right now, and I think this was just a gesture of good faith.”
Trump’s remarks appeared to confirm an ABC News report published the day before, according to which Qatar was set to gift the jet to the Defense Department, allowing the president to use it until he leaves office, after which the Pentagon would transfer ownership of the plane to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation.