Trump’s Latest Grift: $400 Million Luxury Jet from Qatar Arrow

Donald Trump is preparing to accept a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar - possibly "the most valuable gift" ever extended to a U.S. president. While working families brace for higher costs and empty shelves, Trump is still focusing on enriching himself and his billionaire backers.

NEW: Donald Trump is set to receive a luxury jet from Qatar - which may be the "biggest foreign gift ever."

ABC News: "In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar - a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement told ABC News.

"The highly unusual - unprecedented - arrangement is sure to raise questions about whether it is legal for the Trump administration, and ultimately, the Trump presidential library foundation, to accept such a valuable gift from a foreign power. …

"According to aviation industry experts, the estimated value of the aircraft Trump will inherit is about $400 million …"

Trump gutted anti-corruption enforcement on Day One and installed a loyalist in key oversight positions, while enriching himself and his billionaire Cabinet.

Associated Press: "[Trump is] opening his second term by rolling back prohibitions on executive branch employees accepting major gifts from lobbyists, and ditching bans on lobbyists seeking executive branch jobs or vice versa …

"Trump issued a Day 1 executive order that rescinded one on ethics that former President Joe Biden signed when he took office in January 2021."

CBS News: "President Trump on Monday removed the director of the Office of Government Ethics, the independent agency responsible for overseeing ethics rules and financial disclosures for the executive branch. …

"Mr. Trump [tapped] Doug Collins, a Republican former member of Congress and current Department of Veterans Affairs secretary, to be the acting director of OGE."

Vox: "Trump's for-profit presidency"

New York Times: "The move by Mr. Trump and his family was immediately condemned by ethics lawyers who said they could not recall a more explicit profiteering effort by an incoming president.

"'It is literally cashing in on the presidency - creating a financial instrument so people can transfer money to the president's family in connection with his office' said Adav Noti, executive director of Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit ethics group. 'It is beyond unprecedented.'"

Many Americans who bought Trump's meme coin are losing money - while Trump and his billionaire friends profit off them.

Washington Post: "At least 67,000 new or small-time crypto investors like Davis have bet on Trump's meme coin, pouring $15 million into the volatile venture endorsed by Trump and benefiting his personal wealth, a Washington Post analysis found.

"But virtually all of them bought near the coin's peak, just before the inauguration, and 80 percent of them have seen the value of their holdings nosedive, The Post's analysis shows. One buyer who spent $10,000 has already lost, on paper, more than $8,000. …

"The firm [Chainalysis] told The Post that 58 investors have so far made more than $10 million each in profits from the coin, for a total of roughly $1.1 billion - but that 764,000 other investors, most of whom had small holdings, have lost money on the coin. …

"Three Trump-affiliated wallets have received about $43 million in fees since the coin's debut, according to a Post analysis of data from Flipside. Those wallets have also made roughly $312 million in crypto sales."