Qatar’s US bonds under a new exam according to Trump Jet offer

The in -depth US relationship with Qatar is attracting a new exam this week when President Donald Trump began a Middle East tour because he may be able to accept a free jet from the Qatar Royal Family to replace his current aircraft as Air Force One.

The view has drawn non -partisan pushback, which Trump pushed with indifference.

“In my opinion, Qatar is a great ally. I think they support Hamas.

Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky.

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Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani greets President Donald Trump in Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“(The Qataris) said to me: ‘We actually want to give a gift. You have done so many things. And we would like to give you a gift to the Ministry of Defense.” Now some people say: “Oh, you shouldn’t accept gifts for the country.” My attitude is, why would I not accept the gift? Trump explained Sean Hannity from Fox News on Tuesday.

Relations between the United States to Doha have had a long way since 2017 when Trump accused Qatar of accusing terrorism: “In the past, the nation of Qatar has been a finance of terrorism at a very high level,” said Trump at the time.

From there, Qatar became an important non-Nato ally in the United States under President Biden in 2022 and is home to Al Udeid Air Base, one of the largest bases in the Middle East of the United States and an important hub for US Central Command Operations.

Qatar was at the head of the peace and hostage negotiations, especially in the war between Israel and Hamas. An Israeli delegation traveled to Doha on Tuesday to endure a potential agreement on a hostage exchanges and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

“Qatar is an indispensable security and energy partner in the USA. It is a strategic partnership that has become stronger and more expansive over time,” Ali al-Ansari, media statel at the Qatar message to Fox News Digital. “His sovereignty, which Amir and President Trump have a long -term relationship for many years, and both leaders have the common goals of peace, security and stability.”

“Qatar works closely with the president and his team to improve these common goals, be it in Gaza, Ukraine, the Congo or in other areas of instability.”

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Trump is expected to meet the Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani in Doha. (Reuters/Evgenia Novozhenina)

In March, the negotiations led by US and Qatar mediators led to the release of American George Glezmann, who had been detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan for more than two years. The negotiators of Doha were also involved in the US Hamas deal to publish the last living American Geisel Edan Alexander on Monday.

“They are very smart in making useful,” said Michael Makovsky, CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

In Qatar, the Trump organization has closed a new deal for the construction of a luxury golf resort, which has worked with Qatari Diar, a real estate company that is supported by the sovereign asset fund of this country.

“Your financial connections to people in Trump’s orbit who are useful as our mediators and who have strategically communicated that the Qataris made themselves very effective,” added Makovsky.

And despite its relatively small population – fewer than 3 million – Qatar controls over 10% of the world gas reserves in the world.

Us Air Force B-52 StratoFortress Airplanes from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, will come to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar on April 9, 2016. (Staff Sgt. Corey Hook/Us Air Force about AP))

“They have an enormous influence due to the money they spend,” said Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

Energy secretary Chris Wright praised Qatar as a “esteemed energy sector”-the second largest manufacturer of liquid natural gas in the world. “I look forward to building together in this new era of shared relationships between the USA and the Qatari,” he said. The envoy of the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, praised Qatar as an esteemed partner in negotiations.

Senator Roger Marshall, R-Kans.

As a witness, Marshall shot back the connections between the Qataris that donated billions for universities and anti -Semitic protests: “Qatar was a great ally in America. So I don’t know why they attack them.”

But others are skeptical.

Doha prepares for Trump’s visit. (Noushad Thekkayil/Nurphoto about Getty Images)

“Kataris has been sponsoring a wide range of terrorist groups for decades,” said Schanzer. “It was a cross -party decision to make an eye on the problem.”

Israel supporters have long accused Qatar of having financed Hamas. Before the outbreak of the war after October 7, 2023, Doha sent millions of dollars a month to the Gaza Strip for years to support the Hamas government structure there.

They also spent billions in the United States, including aggressive lobbying in Washington.

“We saw that they invest billions from dollars in university formation. We know that they are investing in K-12 education in this country,” said Schanzer. “You buy plots with valuable properties. They give … in states such as Texas and South Carolina, in which you have the defense industry and the energy industry, massive money amounts.”

“In the past two decades, they have spent a lot of money, spent a lot of effort, and it now pays dividends.”

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Schanzer said he was pleased that the discussion about the Boeing aircraft triggered a national conversation about the influence of Qatar in the USA

“This is a long -term problem that was not taken into account by Barack Obama, by Joe Biden, George W. Bush and Trump.”