As controversy continues to surround President Donald Trump‘s acceptance of a $400 million plane from Qatar, he touted another aviation deal with the Middle Eastern nation on Wednesday.
Trump said during a signing ceremony that state-run Qatar Airways will buy 160 planes from Boeing, a U.S. manufacturer. According to the president, the contract is valued at $200 billion, though details were not immediately available.
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“[Boeing CEO] Kelly [Ortberg] is telling me it’s the largest order of jets in the history of Boeing,” Trump said. “That’s pretty good.”
Trump asked an aide if the order was for 140 or 160 planes, and he apparently confirmed the latter figure.
“That’s fantastic. That’s a record, Kelly,” he said. “Congratulations to Boeing, get those planes out there.”
Ortberg also signed the documents while seated to the president’s right.
According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the aircraft deal is worth $96 billion and could include the acquisition of up to 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft. It will be Boeing’s largest 787 order.
The White House said the deal will support 154,000 U.S. jobs annually, or more than a million jobs over the production and delivery timeline. The $96 billion figure is lower than the number Trump cited, but the same fact sheet shows that the total value of all the deals signed between the United States and Qatar exceeds $243.5 billion.
The deal could be a boon for Boeing, which has faced layoffs and declining confidence in its aircraft following a series of incidents. However, it is unlikely to quiet the controversy of Trump accepting a plane from Qatar.
Trump has been waiting on a new Air Force One designed by Boeing, but it is significantly behind schedule and may not be ready until he leaves office. In the interim, Trump announced that the gifted, Boeing-made plane from Qatar, valued at $400 million, will be used as a replacement for Air Force One.
While Trump has insisted the plane is “FREE” and is technically being donated to the Department of Defense rather than to him, Democrats and some Republicans have voiced strong opposition.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he will pause Trump’s remaining Justice Department nominations “until the American people learn the truth about this deal.”
Nikki Haley, Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations and 2024 GOP primary rival, also voiced her displeasure on X.
“Accepting gifts from foreign nations is never a good practice,” she said. “It threatens intelligence and national security. Especially when that nation supports a terrorist organization and allows those terrorist regimes to live on its soil.”
Nonetheless, Trump said he is pleased with the Boeing deal, which fits into his wider plan to boost U.S. manufacturing and exports.
“I just want to thank you for the friendship, for the long-term friendship,” Trump told Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. “And again, long before any of this stuff, we just liked each other. That’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing.”
The emir echoed Trump’s praise during the signing ceremony, which also included a defense agreement and a joint declaration.
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“I think after signing these documents, we are going to another level of relationship between Qatar and the United States,” the Qatari leader said. “So I just wanted to thank you, Mr. President, for this historic visit.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House and Boeing for more information.
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