American interests take a backseat to the president's personal enrichment

Donald Trump is poised to accept a $400 million "gift" from Qatar in the form of a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet that will ultimately serve as Air Force One. Ownership will then be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation before he leaves office. Simply put, a foreign government is giving the President of the United States a personal gift worth $400 million. This isn't a state gift that will remain government property; this is a gift that will ultimately become Trump's personal property. This is the definition of foreign influence buying. The Constitution's emoluments clause explicitly prohibits U.S. officials from accepting gifts "from any King, Prince, or foreign State." The framers included the provision because they understood the danger of foreign influence. They knew that gifts from foreign powers could compromise the independence of American officials and undermine the national interest. Yes, Trump's willingness to accept this "gift" shows a complete disregard for these fundamental principles, but it’s also unconstitutional. Cue: the Department of Justice. Attorney General Pam Bondi – herself a Trump loyalist who previously took campaign contributions from Trump while deciding whether to investigate Trump University (she decided not to pursue charges— shocker, I know) has conveniently decided this arrangement is "legally permissible." It goes without saying, but this brand of legal gymnastics would get laughed out of any first-year law school class. The emoluments clause exists precisely to prevent foreign governments from purchasing influence from American officials. The technical ownership structure doesn't change the fact that Qatar is giving a $400 million asset that will ultimately benefit Trump personally. Trump knows that. Bondi knows that. They will pretend otherwise because their priority isn’t defending the office, but rather maximizing the degree to which they can exploit it for personal gain. What’s worse is that this isn't happening in isolation. Trump's cryptocurrency scheme has been revealed to be overwhelmingly purchased by foreign buyers. According to financial analysis, foreign investors have poured hundreds of millions into Trump's digital coins – yet another avenue for foreign governments and interests to funnel money directly to Trump. The President of the United States is quite literally selling access and influence to the highest bidder. Qatar isn't giving a $400 million jet out of the goodness of their hearts – they expect something in return. That's how transactional relationships work, and nobody understands transactional relationships better than Donald Trump. What exactly is Qatar buying with this $400 million "gift"? We don't know, and that's the problem. When foreign governments can simply purchase the president's favor with luxury gifts, American interests take a backseat to the president's personal enrichment.