Trump defends Qatar's 747 gift as he hits campaign trail ahead of US midterms

US President Donald Trump defended his acceptance of a luxury Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar during a campaign rally in Arizona on Wednesday, saying that when someone gives you a gift, the appropriate response is to say thank you. Trump later travelled to Montana as part of a Western campaign swing aimed at boosting Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.“When you’re given gifts, you take ’em, right?” Trump told supporters in Bullhead City, Arizona. “When they give you a 747 you say two words: ‘thank you.’”Trump recounted how he learnt that Qatar had one of the best Boeing 747 aircraft and called the country's emir to ask if he could borrow it. According to Trump, the emir offered the aircraft as a gift instead. His acceptance of the luxury jet last year drew criticism, including from some of his staunchest Republican supporters.Trump brushes aside affordability concernsThe president’s remarks came as rising living costs remain a major concern for Americans ahead of the midterm elections. While candidates across the country are increasingly focusing on economic pressures facing voters, Trump devoted much of his Arizona speech to the aircraft and his plans for renovations in Washington.Trump spoke about the White House ballroom under construction, a newly completed helipad on the South Lawn and a proposed triumphal arch in the US capital.“The fake news media doesn't talk about how well we're doing” as a country, Trump said, adding that journalists instead questioned him about “affordability” in what appeared to be a dismissive reference to the issue.The rally was held in Bullhead City in Mohave County, an area with higher poverty and unemployment rates and lower per-capita income than Arizona and the US overall, according to census and state unemployment data.Trump's visits to Arizona and Montana followed campaign stops in Alaska on Tuesday and Ohio on Monday. White House press secretary Katie Zacharia described the series of rallies as a “midterm blitz”, as Republicans attempt to limit expected losses in elections that will determine control of Congress.Arizona is the only swing state among Trump's recent campaign stops. Although Trump won the state in 2016 and 2024, he lost it in 2020.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.