President Donald Trump is about to accept a jumbo jet from a country with a history of funding terrorism. The Boeing 747 being gifted by Qatar will be used as Air Force One, then transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation, in a deal that does not encapsulate the complicated relationship between the two nations.
When Trump first took office in 2017, he called on Middle Eastern countries, particularly those on the Arabian Peninsula, to stop supporting terrorism. “Stop funding, stop teaching hate, and stop the killing,” Trump stated from the Rose Garden in June 2017.
Trump then called out Qatar by name. “The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level,” Trump said. “Do we take the easy road, or do we finally take a hard but necessary action? We have to stop the funding of terrorism.”
Which organizations did Qatar fund?
Qatar and individuals residing in the country helped finance some of the world’s most notorious terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah, al-Qaida, the Nusrah Front and ISIS.
A 2018 U.K. Parliament report stated, “Qatar has had a history of either paying or helping facilitate ransom payments to Al Nusra with at least one source stating that ‘Kidnappings of civilians and, on some occasions, military personnel for ransom have been a significant source of income.’”
Trump said despite being urged, Qatar wasn’t doing enough to cut its ties to terrorism.
“For Qatar, we want you back among the unity of responsible nations,” the president said at the time. “We ask Qatar, and other nations in the region to do more and do it faster.”
Has Qatar changed?
A month after making that statement, Qatar signed an agreement with the United States to combat the financing of terrorism. The country created restrictions on the overseas activities of charities in the nation that had a hand in the financing.
Qatar facilitated U.S. military operations in the region and hosts roughly 6,500 U.S. service members at military installations. One of U.S. Central Command’s largest and most important air bases is in Qatar.
A Department of Justice legal advisor has been in the nation since 2018, helping with counterterrorism efforts and increasing prosecutorial capacity.
Qatar has also played a key role in peace talks between Israel and Hamas. The country hosts a Hamas political office, which is seen as both enabling a dialogue and providing support to the organization.
Now, in 2025, the president says Qatar is making a “gesture of good faith” by donating a plane to the United States Defense Department. But nothing he’s said has eased the concerns of those who think accepting the plane is a mistake, unethical or outright illegal.
