Qatar’s Rising Influence: Trump Jet Offer Spotlights Foreign Foothold In Washington

The deepening U.S. narration pinch Qatar is drafting caller scrutiny this week arsenic President Donald Trump began a Middle East circuit amid reports that he whitethorn judge a free pitchy from nan Qatari royal family to switch his existent level arsenic Air Force One.

The imaginable has drawn bipartisan pushback, which Trump has met pinch indifference. 

"Qatar is not, successful my opinion, a awesome ally. I mean, they support Hamas. So what I'm worried astir is nan information of nan president," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told reporters connected Tuesday.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Fox News, "I deliberation it's not worthy nan quality of impropriety."

TRUMP DEFENDS QATAR JUMBO JET OFFER AS TROUBLED BOEING FAILS TO DELIVER NEW AIR FORCE ONE FLEET

Trump was expected to recreation to Qatar aft a sojourn to Saudi Arabia, wherever he met pinch Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

"[The Qataris] said to me, 'we would for illustration to, successful effect, we would for illustration to make a gift. You've done truthful galore things. and we'd for illustration to make you a gift to nan Defense Department,' which is wherever it's going. and I said, 'Well, that's nice.' Now, immoderate group say, 'Oh, you shouldn't judge gifts for nan country.' My cognition is, why wouldn't I judge nan gift? We're giving to everybody else, why wouldn't I judge a gift?" Trump explained to Fox News' Sean Hannity connected Tuesdsay. 

U.S. relations pinch Doha person travel a agelong measurement since 2017, erstwhile Trump accused Qatar of harboring terrorism: "The federation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of coercion astatine a very precocious level," Trump said astatine nan time. 

From there, Qatar became a awesome non-NATO state to nan U.S. successful 2022 nether President Biden and is location to Al Udeid Air Base, 1 of nan U.S.’ largest Middle East bases and a cardinal hub for U.S. Central Command operations. 

Qatar has been astatine nan forefront of bid and hostage negotiations, particularly successful nan warfare betwixt Israel and Hamas. An Israeli delegation traveled to Doha connected Tuesday to hash retired a imaginable statement connected a hostage speech and ceasefire successful nan Gaza Strip.

"Qatar is an indispensable information and power partner to nan United States. It's a strategical business that has grown stronger and much expansive complete time," Ali Al-Ansari, media attaché astatine nan Qatari embassy, told Fox News Digital. "His highness nan Amir and President Trump person a longstanding narration complete galore years, and some leaders person nan shared goals of peace, information and stability."

"Qatar is moving intimately pinch nan president and his squad to beforehand these shared goals, whether successful Gaza, Ukraine, Congo aliases different areas of instability." 

TRUMP SAYS HE'LL DROP SANCTIONS ON SYRIA IN MOVE TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS

Trump is expected to meet pinch Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani successful Doha. (REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina)

In March, weeks of negotiations led by U.S. and Qatari mediators led to nan merchandise of American George Glezmann, who had been imprisoned by nan Taliban successful Afghanistan for much than 2 years. Doha’s negotiators were besides progressive successful nan U.S.-Hamas woody to merchandise nan past surviving American hostage, Edan Alexander, connected Monday. 

"They’re very smart astatine making themselves useful," said Michael Makovsky, CEO of nan Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

The Trump Organization has cinched a caller woody to build a luxury play edifice successful Qatar, partnering pinch Qatari Diar, a existent property institution backed by that country’s sovereign wealthiness fund.

"Their financial connections to group successful Trump’s orbit, their making themselves useful arsenic our mediators, communicating that strategically, nan Qataris person been very effective astatine making themselves important," Makovsky added. 

And contempt its comparatively mini organization – little than 3 cardinal – Qatar controls complete 10% of nan world’s earthy state reserves. 

U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress craft from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, get astatine Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Saturday, April 9, 2016. (Staff Sgt. Corey Hook/U.S. Air Force via AP) (The Associated Press)

"They person an tremendous magnitude of power arsenic a consequence of nan money they spend," said Jonathan Schanzer, executive head astatine nan Foundation for Defense of Democracies.  

Energy Secretary Chris Wright praised Qatar arsenic a "valued power partner" – the second-largest shaper of liquid earthy state successful nan world. "I look guardant to building connected this caller era of U.S.-Qatari relations together," he said. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has praised Qatar arsenic a weighted partner successful negotiations.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kans., joined Trump officials successful defending Qatar during a Senate proceeding connected field antisemitism recently. 

As a witnesser described links betwixt nan Qataris donating billions to universities and antisemitic protests, Marshall changeable back: "Qatar has been a awesome state to America. So I don't cognize why you're attacking them."

But others are skeptical.

Doha prepares for Trump's visit. (Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"The Qataris person been sponsoring a wide scope of panic groups for decades," said Schanzer. "It's been a bipartisan determination to move a unsighted oculus to nan problem."

Israel supporters person agelong accused Qatar of backing Hamas. Prior to nan outbreak of warfare aft Oct. 7, 2023, Doha for years sent millions of dollars per period to nan Gaza Strip to prop up Hamas’ governing building there.

They’ve besides spent billions successful nan U.S., including an fierce lobbying cognition successful Washington.

"We person seen them put billions of dollars into higher education. We cognize that they're investing successful K-12 acquisition successful this country," said Schanzer. "They're buying up parcels of valuable existent estate. They are … spending monolithic amounts of money successful states for illustration Texas and South Carolina, wherever you person nan defense manufacture and nan power industry." 

"Over nan past 2 decades aliases truthful they person spent a batch of money, expended a batch of effort, and it's now paying dividends."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Schanzer said he was pleased nan chat complete nan Boeing level had spurred a nationalist speech complete Qatar’s power successful nan U.S.

"This is simply a longstanding problem that has gone unaddressed by Barack Obama, by Joe Biden, by George W. Bush and by Trump."