President Donald Trump chided an ABC News reporter during an executive order signing in the Roosevelt Room on Monday due to the framing of her question about a Boeing 747 airplane that Qatar is gifting the Department of Defense.
The reporter began to ask Trump what he would say to those “who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you; why not leave it–”
Trump then interjected, “You’re ABC fake news, right?”
“Let me tell you, you should be embarrassed asking that question,” the president continued. “They’re giving us a free jet. I could say, ‘No, no, no…I want to pay you a billion or $400 million, or whatever it is.’ Or I could say, ‘Thank you very much.’”
Earlier in the presser, Trump said the Qataris offered to provide the jet because the presidential planes Boeing is producing are behind schedule.
“They knew about it, and they said, ‘We would like to do something.’ And if we can get a 747, as a contribution to our Defense Department to use during a couple of years while they’re building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture,” Trump explained.
“Now I could be a stupid person and say, ‘Oh no, we don’t want a free plane.’ We give free things out. We’ll take one too,” he added, noting that the current planes are 40 years old and require expensive maintenance.
Trump said he believes Qatar made the offer because the United States helps them and other Middle Eastern nations.
“I think it was a gesture because of the fact that we have helped, and continue to, we will continue to, all of those countries — Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and others. We keep them safe,” Trump said.
“If it wasn’t for us, they probably wouldn’t exist right now. And I think this was just a gesture of good faith,” he added.
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