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  • 5/14/2025
During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about President Trump planning to accept a 747 plane from the Qatari Royal Family.
Transcript
00:00On Donald Trump's Middle East trip, there's so much going on today.
00:04Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East seems less than a presidential visit and more like
00:08a personal business venture.
00:11Less like a presidential visit and more like a personal business venture.
00:17Since Donald Trump became president, nobody seems to have benefited more from Middle East
00:22deals than Donald Trump himself.
00:25Golf courses by the beach, hotel openings in Dubai, billions in investments toward
00:32Trump's stable coins.
00:34All of that enriches Donald Trump.
00:38That's what American foreign policy is all about?
00:42To make a rich president richer?
00:46And then of course, there's a matter of a half a billion dollar private jet that Gutter wants
00:52to gift Donald Trump to use his Air Force One.
00:57On this Middle Eastern trip, who exactly is Donald Trump working for?
01:02The American people are for his own bottom line and the bottom line of the companies he
01:06brought on the tour.
01:09And until Attorney General Bondi, a former high-powered lobbyist for Gutter, explains why this robber
01:16baron deal was allowed to go through on the Qatar plane, I will not be complicit in the
01:25further polarization of DOJ and will hold all political DOJ nominees.
01:33Let me say that again.
01:35Until Attorney General Bondi, a former high-powered lobbyist for Gutter, explains why, resolves the
01:45issues of this robber baron deal for Gutter to gift to President Trump a 400 million dollar
01:55airplane with huge security issues until they resolve those issues in a way that is satisfying
02:04to the American people in terms of security and in terms of fairness, I will not be complicit
02:12in the further polarization of the DOJ.
02:15And so I'm holding all political DOJ nominees.
02:20Now some of our Republican colleagues, to their credit, have said they have concerns about the
02:25Gutter deal.
02:26Well, how about showing it?
02:29How about showing some outrage?
02:32Republicans should join us in getting answers, or else they can expect this hold on nominees
02:37to persist.
02:38If this were done by a Democrat, you'd all be out here screaming.
02:42You know how bad it is.
02:43You know how bad it is.
02:45So speak up.
02:47Maybe that'll stop the President, because there's a real national security risk.
02:52We cannot let a foreign country, Air Force One, is the most complicated, sophisticated plane
02:58in the world by a lot.
03:01Because it must protect a President when he or she is communicating.
03:09And in case there's a nefarious action against that plane, God forbid.
03:16And to let Kuwait, to let Gutter rather, in on those secrets, you'd have to dismantle the
03:26plane they gave us down to every screw and every ratchet to see if they put little devices
03:31in there.
03:32It is estimated it will end up costing more to make this gift, quote unquote gift, secure
03:43than it would to buy the new planes that are two years from Boeing that in two years will
03:50be available for delivery.
03:53There are laws on the books precisely designed to prevent the naked corruption of a foreign
03:59country paying for a luxury Air Force One.
04:02We should apply those laws, and that's why I'm deploying these holds.
04:06Americans deserve to know the answer to a basic question.
04:10Again, who is Donald Trump working for, the American people or himself?

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