Nothing is legally wrong with President Donald Trump’s accepting a Boeing 747-8 from Qatar for use as a temporary new Air Force One. But he would be unwise to do so.

Ask yourself a question: If the plane were a gift from Australia rather than Qatar, would it elicit the same objections being raised today?

Of course not. Legally, the U.S. government is in the clear to accept the donation of an aircraft from a foreign government. The precedent was set by Congress in the 1990s, when it authorized the president to accept from any person, foreign government or international organization financial and in-kind contributions related to operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

News reports indicate that Trump would then donate the plane to his presidential library at the end of his term. There is precedent for this as well. In 2001, President George W. Bush approved the transfer of the Air Force One plane that Ronald Reagan used during his presidency from the Defense Department to the Reagan library in Simi Valley. It is on permanent loan from the U.S. Air Force, and is now the centerpiece of the library.

Similarly, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library houses the Marine One helicopter that Nixon flew in during his administration, including on his iconic farewell from the White House South Lawn after resigning the presidency.

One obvious difference: Previous presidential aircraft were donated for historical display purposes. Trump reportedly plans to use the donated plane during his post-presidency. That is unprecedented, but not unlawful — and ultimately, I think, not a big deal. Trump will be almost 83 when he leaves office. He might very well give Jimmy Carter a run for the title of oldest living former president. But, even if he does, after a brief period of use it will eventually become, in all likelihood, a museum exhibit like the Air Force One at Simi Valley.

The scandal here is not Trump’s willingness to accept the gift of a plane, but Boeing’s utter failure to deliver the planes it promised Trump in his first term. Boeing was supposed to deliver two new presidential aircraft by 2024. But Boeing now says it might not be able to deliver them until 2029 or later — after Trump has left office. It is pathetic that America’s largest aircraft maker cannot deliver a new plane for the president of the United States — and understandable that Trump is looking at other options to replace the two current 35-year-old planes serving as Air Force One.

The problem is not the law; it is the donor. Qatar is the nexus of terrorism and anti-Americanism in the Middle East. Qatar has funneled over $1 billion to Hamas, and was the haven from which Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh directed the terrorist group that carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks from a plush home in Doha, where he kept his billions in ill-gotten wealth. Qatar is also the home to exiled al-Qaeda-loving emirs of the Taliban, along with countless other terrorists — many of whom travel the world on Qatari passports.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar over its sponsorship of terrorism. Qatar also funds media platforms, such as Al Jazeera, spreading antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-American, pro-terrorist hate. One Al Jazeera reporter, Ismail Abu Omar, was identified by the Israel Defense Forces as a deputy company commander in Hamas’s East Khan Younis Battalion, and reportedly entered Israel with Hamas on Oct. 7, where he filmed Hamas atrocities.

Moreover, the gift comes at a time when Qatar is actively seeking to buy influence in the United States, reportedly spending almost $100 billion to influence Congress, the executive branch, newsrooms, think tanks and the business community. Qatar is the No. 1 source of foreign funding for American universities, undoubtedly helping to drive the dramatic rise of antisemitism on college campuses.

Qatar plays both sides, hosting a U.S. air base (incidentally built with $1 billion in Qatari government money) while simultaneously harboring terrorists and promoting Islamist radicalism. The United States should be pressuring Qatar to cease its malign activities, not creating the impression that we are in Qatar’s debt by accepting a $400 million aircraft for the president’s personal use.

Trump’s response to these concerns is simple: When someone offers America a luxury airliner at no charge, we should take it. “I could be a stupid person and say, ‘Oh no, we don’t want a free plane,’” Trump recently said. Why spend half a billion U.S. taxpayer dollars, he asks, if a foreign government is willing to foot the bill?

If the donor were just about any country other than Qatar, I’d agree. Legally, Trump can accept the plane, but just because something is legal does not make it wise.