A centrist commentator from Andrew Yang's Forward Party prompted laughter when she compared a $400 million plane Qatar is gifting to President Donald Trump with a puppy that former President George W. Bush received.
It was reported recently that Trump would receive a luxury plane from Qatar to replace Air Force One during his presidency. The plane will then be gifted to the Trump presidential library. Boeing was working on a new Air Force One plane, but delivery has been delayed until 2027, ABC News reported.
Discussing the matter on MSNBC Wednesday, Lindsey Drath, CEO of the Forward Party, agreed with Republicans claiming that there's a history of presidents getting gifts from other countries.
Host Ana Cabrera played a clip of a speech by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) where he defended the purchase of the plane. He cited Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said accepting the gift didn't violate any laws.
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"So, why are my colleagues and the woke media having a full-blown meltdown over this situation?" Tuberville questioned.
Former Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) said that the plane "is not a gift."
"It's not a goodwill gesture. It's pure, unshameful corruption. It's transactional right in front of us. Whatever happened to draining the swamp here?" he asked, a reference to the "drain the swamp" slogan from Trump's 2016 campaign
Rally crowds would chant it during events. At the time, Trump said Washington was broken. He alleged that the revolving door of government workers to lobbyists was problematic and the political establishment needed a shakeup, BBC explained.
Rose implied that the plane gift from Qatar was one with strings attached.
"This is a direct transactional item solicited by Donald Trump for god knows what," said Rose.
But Drath said that Tuberville isn't wrong about the history.
"What [the] congressman referenced in the general erosion of trust in our institutions amongst the American voter is a real issue here," she said. "And instances like this are further eroding the trust the American voter has in institutions. And, Sen. Tuberville is not wrong, there is a history of American presidents receiving gifts. George W. Bush famously received a puppy from a Bulgarian state leader. However, he did turn that puppy over to the National Archives. There are bureaucratic processes for understanding where these gifts should stay."
"Hold on! A puppy is way different than a $400 million luxury jet to become Air Force one!" Cabrara cut in.
Rose began laughing, and even Drath chuckled a bit at her own comment.
Drath claimed that there was "murkiness in the rules" around the presidency and compared that murkiness to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Cabrara asked what murkiness exists in the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.
Drath referenced a comment from Rose that there's an idea that a gift should be for the good of the American people. She said that the plane being in a library would certainly be for the public to enjoy.
"I would just say here, this is the issue Democrats should be talking about as we're talking about, you know, they throw so much at us each and every day, and it starts to feel a little schizophrenic on the part of the Democrats because there's so many horrendous things happening. ... Nobody supports taking a $400 million payoff bribe from a nation overseas. At the same time, that you're being on the side of billionaires and cutting Medicaid. It's a clear story of corruption and being against hard-working Americans. That's the narrative that's going to win back the House and the Senate in just a few short years."
See the clip below or at the link here.