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Tag Archives: current-events

Trumplestilskin, Spinning Gold into Shit!


My Opinion: Michael Abrams

The “Resident” abetted by sycophantic Congress will personally be responsible for disease outbreaks and closing of rural hospitals while touting the “savings”. The “silent public” who will normally attack the facts have fully embraced the agenda of the current administration purposely or tacitly are upset over “the Epstein files”. The “Epstein files” are just another distraction from the real issues that should concern all voters. The Neer do well Congress has saddled the country with more debt that will be paid by the voters (and their progeny). It would interest the willing to read this bill and understand how the upper 1% are big winners in the “BBB”. The lower end of the income scale (earners under 50K annually) get zip. The ongoing idea that there is massive fraud in the safety net programs (Medicaid and others) which has been proven false. The idea appears to be that the people who are gaming the system are mostly people of color collectively as if there are no white Americans suffering and struggling. The choices we have is pay close attention to your representatives’ actions and statements, call or write to them if you are not happy with their decisions on your behalf. FORGET PARTY POLITICS, this is less important than the integrity of the person.

Nothing is more boring than watching paint dry or Congressional sessions or debates, both are dull subjects but the only one that can educate you in what your representatives are doing! Does anyone remember the statement of Oct 30, 2020? ” I’m going to surround myself only with the best and most serious people,” the Republican said in August 2015. “We want top of the line professionals.” It’s a line that’s come back to haunt him, yet he is still surrounding himself with sycophants who are largely unsuited for the positions they are in. They amount to highly paid “yes men and women loyal to “Trumplestilskin”. This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Whether you chose to believe it or not, the power is in the hands of the voters if we chose to use it.

Extra Descriptive: “Trumplestealskin”

Caveat Emptor


Home Warranty Companies or Extended warranties For a Variety of Objects and machines.

How to select:

  1. Get a copy of their mission statement, contract or statement of operation.
  2. Determine if their customer service is local (speaking your native language)
  3. Request in your native language if you need it.
  4. Do not believe the statements of coverage and the cadre of contractors across your area or the country.
  5. Better Business inquiries usually do not yield much useable information. Even if the company has good or bad rating.
  6. In their advertising they tout how many contractors they have, 24-hour service.

The reality: The service quality depends on the company’s relationship with the contractors.

1.Your basic fee may be less that the contractor fee.

2.Replacement or repair price is negotiated with the contractor to get the cheapest price for the job.

Relative to their location: contractors have a basic fee (which the customer pays) to make the visit and evaluate the problem. When the evaluation is complete the contractor provides that information to the company and the company approves the evaluation after some negotiation (the company always goes for the cheapest way not necessarily best way e.g. If you have a high-quality product and the repair would exceed the price of replacement, the company will offer the customer a” token” amount for replacement maybe with installation according to the product).

Summary:

Read the contract

Talk only to customer service people who speak your language

Get specific details on Contractor fees (even if you have a contracted fee with the company All of these companies express their ability to service but have the basic objective of getting as many signed up as possible but can and will fail the customer at some point usually in the negotiation with the contractor. Remember contractors are being hosed as well as the customer and for that reason the better contractors do not remain in the service of these companies. The hype of what you save in time and money from these companies varies from state

Discovery: When Trump touts, its bad!


Or illegal.

Without any in depth analysis, I have noticed that anytime the Resident tout anything with his regular hyperlatives, it mostly turns out to be the opposite. Near time iteration: “tariffs will make America rich”. Tariffs are a tax on goods coming into the country ergo a tax on goods we consume so whenever we (consumers) purchase these goods we pay a portion or all of these “Tariffs” aka “taxes”. By the facts: the Resident is taxing the people above our normal state and local taxes. He and his supporters are really good at gouging the public and smearing superlatives on them to distract us. Solution become educated voters-aka “all that glitters is not gold”!

When Incompetence Goes to War!


Bombing was the easy part
Dan Rather and Team Steady Jun 23    

    Watching Donald Trump deliver the news of an American attack on Iran Saturday night, I wondered how many viewers had the same reaction I did: How can the United States be going to war — and that’s exactly what it is — with advisers whose collective experience managing international conflict is see-through thin? There was Trump, a draft dodger who has long derided the military, surrounded by his war cabinet of second-rate choices, who owe their professional and political souls to him. Will any of them ever question Trump’s decisions? We know the answer to that. Trump did not have solid evidence Iran was building a nuclear bomb. Nearing the time when they might be able to build one is the best that can be said. Similar, although not identical, to the situation when George W. Bush didn’t have hard evidence that Iraq was building weapons of mass destruction. Bad intel back then led to a war that lasted eight years and killed nearly 5,000 Americans and reportedly 200,000 Iraqis. No WMDs were ever found. Lessons learned? Hardly. Bombing Iran was easy enough. Did anyone at the White House think about what would happen on Day 2? Forty-eight hours after the United States launched bunker-busting bombs and dozens of cruise missiles at Iran, the Iranian regime retaliated. Iran launched missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East. The Defense Department said there were no injuries because Qatari air defenses were able to intercept the Iranian attack. Also, the Iranians gave advance warning to minimize casualties. No one should be surprised by this escalation. And no one should think this is the end of hostilities. Forty thousand U.S. troops are stationed in the region. It is a consequence of going to war, which is exactly what Donald Trump did when he called for strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites. Even if Vice President JD Vance says otherwise. “We’re not at war with Iran. We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” he said on “Meet the Press” Sunday. The Iranian people likely quibble with Vance’s semantics. Iran has other retaliatory options from which to choose. In an internal FBI email obtained by The New York Times, American officials warn that Iran and its allies have “historically targeted U.S. interests in response to geopolitical events, and they are likely to increase their efforts in the near term.” The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow strip of water between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, is one of the world’s most important strategic choke points. And Iran controls the north side of it. The 20 million barrels of oil produced daily in the region — a fifth of global output — must travel through the strait. Some influential Iranians are calling for Hormuz to be closed, including Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of a popular hard-line Iranian newspaper, who has the ear of the supreme leader. “It is now our turn to act without delay. As a first step, we must launch a missile strike on the US naval fleet in Bahrain and simultaneously close the Strait of Hormuz to American, British, German, and French ships,” Shariatmadari wrote in his newspaper. Mohammad Ali Shabani, an expert on Iran, told CNN that Iran’s control of global shipping lanes gives the government the “capacity to cause a shock in oil markets, drive up oil prices, drive inflation, [and] collapse Trump’s economic agenda.” If Hormuz is closed, oil prices will skyrocket. But perhaps the ayatollah will put his pocketbook before payback. China is the No. 1 buyer of Iranian oil. The money Iran earns from Chinese oil sales accounts for 50% of government spending, according to The Times. It has allowed the Iranian regime to fund terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. By the way, need we remind ourselves that China, not Iran, is the most potent foreign threat to American security? Also that Iran, along with China and Russia, has the ability to launch destructive cyber attacks. But now back to the strikes themselves. Trump claimed victory, saying the U.S. bombings “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. No evidence has been given, and a bomb damage assessment has yet to be released. This administration is not known for truth-telling, so a wait-and-see approach is justified. Using satellite imagery, the Israeli military’s initial assessment is that Fordo, the main nuclear site, where the U.S. dropped at least six bunker busters, was damaged but not destroyed. Israeli intelligence believes Iran moved equipment and uranium from the site prior to the bombing. All this means that Saturday’s attack was not a one-and-done as the president would have us believe. Add to that Trump’s changing tune on regime change. Initially he said the goal of the bombing was “destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity.” Vance, Pete Hegseth, and Marco Rubio were reading from the same script as they made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows. The administration’s view “has been very clear that we don’t want a regime change,” Vance said. Perhaps the president didn’t get a copy of the talking points. Not four hours later, Trump took to social media. “It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!” he posted. No one thinks the Iranian government is made up of good guys. It has an abysmal human rights record and is the poster child for state-sponsored terrorism. These leaders have a long record of hating America and all for which we stand. They have been known to subvert our Arab allies in the region. But regime change seldom if ever works out the way the changers intend. See: Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan.   But calling for regime change versus seeking to destroy a country’s nuclear capabilities — no matter how spurious the intelligence — are very different goals with very different long-term prospects. It’s been widely reported that the U.S. defense secretary was not included in planning the Iran mission. Perhaps Hegseth’s Signalgate scandal has finally caught up with him. At least he was by Trump’s side as the president delivered his version of the war news. Meanwhile, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has been put on ice by Trump for testifying to Congress — in March — that the intelligence community did not believe Iran was close to building a nuclear weapon. So Trump needs advisers who will guide him by telling him the truth, rather than what he wants to hear; because they are beholden to him for jobs they aren’t qualified for, they never will. Trump learned from his first administration: Don’t hire the smart people, elevate the sycophants. A few closing notes from your reporter, who has spent a fair portion of his life covering wars: Truth IS the first casualty of war. The first things you hear often are untrue, and so are many of the things you hear later. Wars are by their very nature chaotic and unpredictable. What you most expect frequently does not happen; what you least expect often does. Up close and personal, wars are almost unbelievably savage. The television screen and the printed word do not come close to conveying their harsh realities. Stay Steady,
Dan

Jack Ohman’s You Betcha!


Wow, those military parades can’t even keep a totalitarian awake.
Jun 16

President Trump’s Shitstaffel Chief Stephen Miller, who is currently getting a busy signal from his wife, the New Musk GF Du Jour, has had a busy week rounding up school children, four year olds, and people who pick crops to feed his emaciated Goebbels face.

He had Trump send U.S. Marines, the California National Guard, and any loose Boy Scout troop to patrol the streets of Los Angeles, to no real effect, since what was, in fact, going on was 4,000,000 people getting ready to go to a Dodgers game, brunch, or Disneyland.

This cartoon features a device called “transmogrification”, which means that you make a human into some other weird, surprising object. I think. As I have previously noted here, I am always looking for a little phrase that I can turn into a drawing. They’re not puns, per se, they’re word play. So I kept thinking about the phrase, “Stephen Miller’s biggest fan,” which, of course ultimately called for me converting Trump into an actual fan, which was surprisingly easy to do. Sometimes, this doesn’t work, at all. This worked fine, as Trump’s mouth is open all the time when he’s not pouting. Throw in a whirling blade, build the face around it, and there you go.

I am remiss in not featuring Miller more. I drew him a few times during Trump 1.0, but mostly haven’t done that much about him. I can see this needs to be done much more going forward. It’s my patriotic duty.

I can only imagine the chitchat between Miller and his equally odious wife when he found out she was going to join Musk and his 12 other wives in California.

X-wife, if you will.

Anyway, let’s move on, shall we?

I couldn’t resist doing this, even being part of the Resistance. I have always called The Home Depot “The Home Despot”, and even genius buddy Joel Pett, my colleague late of the Lexington Herald Leader (don’t get him started, either) said he calls it the same thing.

When I set out to do a storefront, I always have to take some care that it at least vaguely resembles the actual business. I drew Walmart the other day, for example, and carefully reproduced the Walmart logo. In this case, I noted that Home Depots usually have that orange lattice on the top of the building. Not exclusively, but usually. When I draw lattice (most frequently on NASA rocket launch gantries, I am usually kind of winging it. I suppose if you carefully examined the lattice, you would probably note that it isn’t technically correct, but I also know it’s unlikely you will give it that level of scrutiny, and thank God.

Then there’s the tank.

I almost never look at tank photos anymore, and just draw a tank the way I want it to look. I suppose that now I have brought this up, I also may have to do that, just to amuse myself. I remember looking at older cartoonists work in 1980, and noting that they would draw television cameras from 1950, with multiple interchangeable lenses sticking out. I would sigh, and draw them correctly, because I am so hip and with it.

I drew a camera a few years ago, and I got a note from a cameraman saying, hey buddy, you might want to check out the way cameras look now, which I did. Wow, were they off. I assume this means that there’s now a new generation of cartoonists looking at my cameras and shaking their heads about how out of it I am.

I’m 64, after all. You can’t keep up with everything. I used to listen to American Top 40 in 1976 and knew every single on the Billboard chart, and whether it was rising or falling. “Oh, Bungle in the Jungle has dropped to Number 24”.

Let’s resume the countdown. NUMBER THREE!

Normally, I don’t like to do cartoons like this, which are simply paens to someone. I’m not above it, but I was delighted to see and hear Gov. Gavin Newsom’s speech the other day where he acted like he wasn’t exactly setting the table for his political future. He sounded like a guy who actually was passionate and sincere about the direct threat of authoritarianism facing this country, California, and him.

Look, I know Newsom is, in fact, a politician likely lining up for 2028, if we have an election, which I do not assume at this point. But he showed a lot of courage and character, and I give him props for doing so.

When doing these types of cartoons, the subject is usually dead or leaving office. There is a fine line between interesting and cornball, so I kept thinking “beacon”. That’s when I saw Gav as a lighthouse. I also really enjoyed drawing this as:

  1. I enjoy drawing water.
  2. I enjoy drawing dark skies.
  3. I enjoy drawing blue and yellow drawings.
  4. I enjoy drawing Newsom.

Newsom is beyond good-looking, honestly. I’ve talked to him many times in person, and I find myself looking at him as an objet d’art—how did they do that? He looks better in person; he almost has an AI appearance to him. Obama: same. JFK: same. Reagan: same. When we have to tackle the good-looking politicians, male or female, it’s something of a challenge. Prior to television, it was perfectly normal to elect politicians who weren’t handsome or pretty. Radio faces, and all. Now most electeds look like weekend weathermen or saleswomen at Nordstrom.

Next?

This was kinda fun.

I’ve never drawn the iconic JFK birthday song by Marilyn Monroe, who was dressed in “skin and beads, and I didn’t see the beads,” according to historian and Kennedy guy Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.. Finally I got my chance here.

I had originally labelled Marilyn Monster as “FASCISM,” which would have fit better. Labeling is tough, people, and the only space I had was where you see it, although in closer examination I could have put it on the tail. I then decided to say “AUTHORITARIANISM,” which was still a bit more accurate than fascism, although I am very open to your counterarguments.

POLLHow best to describe the Trump Administration?Full-on fascistAuthoritarianIncompetent with a hint o’ fascism

The Audacity of Ignorance


MSNBC host Chris Hayes couldn’t contain his laughter on air Friday while reading a fundraising email from President Donald Trump. The email asked for donations for his Saturday military parade, which, as it turns out, most Americans aren’t that eager to fund.

“Donald Trump is holding a North Korean-style military parade, Soviet-style military parade through the nation’s capital, something that we just don’t do as a country,” said Hayes. “The last one we did was after the first Persian Gulf War, which was celebrating the end of the war.

more

He continued, “We don’t have that here. It just so happens to fall on his 79th birthday. He’s even fundraising from it, if you could believe it — well, you can, of course — sending out this email with the subject line, quote, ‘Please help me before my military parade!’”

Hayes broke into laughter reading that last line aloud, as a screenshot of the email was displayed onscreen. He quickly composed himself and continued his coverage on the impending Washington, D.C., event.

“I’m sorry, that’s a funny sentence,” said Hayes. “‘My military parade.’”

Trump has never served in the armed forces and reportedly avoided the Vietnam War draft with a diagnosis of bone spurs in his feet. The daughter of the doctor who provided the diagnosis later said he had done so as a favor to his landlord — Trump’s father, Fred Trump.

The parade and surrounding festivities are meant to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, though the event notably also falls on Trump’s 79th birthday.

A Portrait of Pettiness


Gene Weingarten

Jun 10, 2025

Poll: “Unafraid and Unashamed” | Ethics Alarms

Hello. From a Washington Post story by Maura Judkis, we get a new account of what appears to be the real reason why Donald Trump is hellbent on replacing Kim Sajet, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. It turns out that eight years ago she didn’t like, and rejected as too political and “no good”, the cloying portrait of Trump created by the evangelical conservative, knockoff schlockmeister and ardent Trump enthusiast Julian Raven. The art is pictured above. Its title is “Unafraid and Unashamed.”

Let us be fair and give this some artistically critical thought. Please consider the portrait in a dignified, professional manner. Step back a bit. Sit on well-padded couch we have provided in this online museum, for restful contemplative assessment. If needed, puke into the bucket we have provided as well.

In rejecting the art, Ms. Sajet pointed out to Raven that it was both overly politically advocative and essentially every bit as sophisticated as a velvet Elvis or crying clowns or those dogs playing Texas Hold ‘Em — if not as expertly rendered.

As we approach the revolting spectacle of Trump spending wads of taxpayer money to ostentatiously celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary and, um, his own birthday, with a multi-million dollar shithole-country-style military parade featuring unscalable fences and hundreds of magnetometers, it would be prudent to discuss this issue.

Actually, no. All you have to do is look at some other similar ass-sucking works from the past by ardent political enthusiasts. Here’s one of Hitler, by Hubert Lanzinger, from 1932:

Promoting Patriotism and National Unity: Germany | WWII Artifact Gallery | PBS LearningMedia

Here’s another of Mussolini, by Gerardo Dottori, circa 1933:

You get the idea.

—

Speaking of appalling things, I was on a walk with Lexi the other day when she suddenly alerted and started her hound dog roo-ing at something she saw that was approaching us.

Dogs are suspicious of things that do not seem to conform to the way things are supposed to be. People wearing hats, or delivery people carrying big boxes, for example. My previous dog, Murphy, got freaked out if she saw people kissing.

This thing was even more outrageous to Lexi, though. And I agreed.

It was a guy on a one-wheel Segway, roaring down the street at maybe 25 miles an hour, which in itself is disturbing. But what really got to Lexi, and to me, is that he was simultaneously pushing a stroller with a baby in it.

Opinion: Many of have forgotten the altering, removal and possibly banning of historical information regarding WWII. The folks who lived it, those who studied it and those who teach it recognize the value of that information but this is lost on short sighted individuals whose objective is to create a society like FFLOTUS wants. MA

Movie Reminders


Looking at the Movie “Iron Man” today and was reminded of the past year of the Gaza “conflict?”. Much of the action that occurs in the Middle east shows natives being rounded up and killed, sent packing or enslaved. Meanwhile the political classes (asses)  discuss and guess as to what should be done. And in America the new “Sheriff” has begun to dismantle the government agencies because either they can or because they don’t understand how Government works. The policy of “nuevo Trump 2.0 is to get even at all costs with the overt and tacit approval of the GOP. It is unfortunate that the DEMs are so weak as to present a meager objection even though they do not have control of Congress. All political change starts with small voices that build with facts as the foundation. This political weakness appears to voters as the weakness that it is. If the status quo is to shift, then the political winds need to shift also. It is bad enough that the public is apathetic, complacent or just doesn’t care but  the public servants need to take  the heat and do their jobs with as much honesty as they can muster or just because it is what they were elected to do.

I could quote numerous warnings from the past and near past about the rise of populists and the results thereof but until the public at large learns to or start to learn what information history has shown we will continue down the road to a “kingship” for an extremely incompetent leader and his suck up minions!

Administration: whitening America? not enough WHITEWASH!


Administration: whitening America? not enough WHITEWASH!

If we are paying attention, we will understand that Resident T—P is an angry small man with a grifters personality who thinks Government can be run like a business. However, a business always hires the best available people for open positions. The Resident hires on the basis of wealth and notoriety (or lip size?) and fealty. It is our (voters) duty to vote smarter and not along party lines. If your representatives are in the T—P camp, go independent or another party. Incidentally: How do you Bankrupt3 casinos?

Turns Out, Trump’s Qatar Private Jet Wasn’t Even a Gift


The New Republic

Opinion

Edith Olmsted

Tue, May 20, 2025 at 9:15 AM CDT2 min read

There’s no such thing as a free plane.

Donald Trump’s administration specifically sought out the luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar’s government to replace Air Force One, despite the president’s insistence that the plane was a gift, sources informed CNN.

A senior White House official told CNN that Trump tasked Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy to the Middle East (and shady crypto partner), with tracking down a replacement for Air Force One, after Trump learned that Boeing would not have new jets ready for another two years. Witkoff ended up leading initial conversations with the Qatari government, according to the White House official.

Boeing provided the Pentagon with a list of other clients who might be able to help with America’s search for a new plane, three sources told CNN. One of those sources said that Qatar was included on that list of clients and that the U.S. reached out about purchasing the luxury plane from the Qatari Defense Ministry, which indicated it was willing to sell. There were also discussions about leasing the plane, said another source.

Legal negotiations over the plane’s transfer are still ongoing, and it’s unclear how the plane went from being a potential purchase to a $400 million gift. Trump and his administration have repeatedly stressed that the plane will be free of charge, a gift of goodwill from a foreign government—sparking major backlash on both sides of the aisle over concerns of foreign corruption.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the potential transfer a “donation to our country” on Monday, but the plane is much more of a personal gift to Trump himself than to the people of the United States, whose tax-paying dollars could end up funding the costly rebuild for the president’s supposedly free gift.

Trump reportedly toured a Qatari plane with aides in February and began lamenting how luxurious the plane was compared to his own transportation options. Last week, Trump whined that the current Air Force One is a “much less impressive” plane than the lavish ones dictators use.

CNN’s reporting upends a recent claim from Senator Markwayne Mullin—which was then repeated by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—that negotiations to receive a plane from Qatar began under Joe Biden’s administration.

Giving Trump $400m Boeing jet was his team’s idea not Qatar’s, report claims

Joe Sommerlad

Tue, May 20, 2025 at 8:39 AM CDT

President Donald Trump’s administration originally approached Qatar about the possibility of acquiring one of its Boeing 747 jumbo jets, according to a report.

The new claim reported in CNN contradicts Trump’s insistence that the controversial plane lined up to replace Air Force One was simply offered as a “gift.”

The $400m aircraft that the Qatari royal family intends to present to the United States, described as a “flying palace” due to its luxurious interior, has inspired a number of ethics complaints at home that cast a long shadow over the president’s visit to the Middle East last week.

Now administration sources cited by CNN claim it was the U.S. that first sought out the plane, rather than Qatar coming forward to offer it as a friendly gesture.

The network’s sources claim that, shortly after Trump returned to the White House in January, the Pentagon contacted Boeing for an update on the two new jets it is building as replacements for the current presidential plane.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, as he departs the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha on May 15 2025 (Win McNamee/Getty)

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, as he departs the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha on May 15 2025 (Win McNamee/Getty)

It was told that their construction would take another two years to complete, prompting a frustrated Trump to task his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff with drawing up a list of potential alternatives already in service.

Boeing reportedly supplied Department of Defense officials with the names of its clients around the world. “Qatar was one of the clients,” one of the sources said, adding that the Pentagon then approached Doha, with introductions from Witkoff, offering to buy the plane. Qatar responded by indicating it would be willing to sell, it is claimed.

Another source, however, suggested those discussions were originally about leasing the Boeing, not buying it outright.

The account stands at odds with Trump’s own version of events after the president insisted throughout his trip to the Gulf that the plane was a present from one of America’s key regional allies, describing it as “A GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE” on Truth Social and saying that only a “stupid person” would have refused it.

His position was reiterated by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday. She described the jet as a “donation to our country,” saying that Qatar’s royal family “has offered to donate this plane to the United States Air Force, where that donation will be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations.”

A White House official has since told The Independent that CNN’s reporting is accurate.

Trump griped about the age of the current presidential plane repeatedly last week, boarding it at Abu Dhabi International Airport on Friday with the resentful words: “I leave now and get into a 42-year-old Boeing. The new ones are coming, new ones are coming.”

Amid a furor in Congress over the jet potentially violating the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clause, Trump’s own Department of Justice lawyers moved quickly to rule that accepting it would break no laws.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House lawyer David Warrington said the donation of the aircraft would be “legally permissible,” given that its ownership would be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation before the end of his term.

But Columbia Law School Professor Richard Briffault questioned that assessment when he told NPR that if Trump retains ownership of the plane after leaving office, in spite of his claim that it will ultimately be given to the Department of Defense, “then it’s not really a gift to the United States at all” and instead amounts to a “pretty textbook case of a violation of the emoluments clause.”

A Boeing 747 bearing the color scheme of planes used by the Qatari royal family seen at San Antonio International Airport in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this month (Brandon Lingle/The San Antonio Express-News/AP)

A Boeing 747 bearing the color scheme of planes used by the Qatari royal family seen at San Antonio International Airport in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this month (Brandon Lingle/The San Antonio Express-News/AP)

Professor Briffault further warned that accepting any present leaves the recipient beholden to the gift-giver, an argument also made by Trump nemesis Hillary Clinton, saying that gestures like Qatar’s are “designed to create good feelings for the recipient and to get some kind of reciprocity.”

Another cause of concern is the eye-watering cost of retrofitting the jet to make it an acceptable substitute for the presidential plane.

Experts warn that it would take several years and require billions of dollars in further investment from the American taxpayer to ensure it meets the necessary security standards.

It would require secure communications, electromagnetic shielding, and in-flight refueling capabilities, to name just three necessary upgrades.