Trump gets a plane. We lose healthcare.
Qatar's plane and the Republican Budget expose who Trump is working for.
In 1785, King Louis XVI of France gifted Benjamin Franklin a diamond-encrusted snuff box. Franklin, then serving as America’s diplomat in France, turned it over to Congress, eventually gaining approval to keep it.
Two years later, during the Constitutional Convention, Charles Pinckney of South Carolina introduced what became Article I, Section 9, Clause 8—the Foreign Emoluments Clause—explicitly designed to shield U.S. officials from foreign bribery.
At the Virginia ratifying convention, Edmund Randolph warned of “the President receiving Emoluments from foreign powers,” noting that a president who violates the clause “may be impeached.”
This week, Donald Trump announced plans to accept a private plane worth $400 million from Qatar.
Asked about the gift, Trump said: “I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”
In Trump’s worldview, when someone offers you money, you take it. It would be stupid not to.
That belief has defined his presidency. The result? The most openly corrupt administration in modern American history. It’s not just the plane. A few lowlights:
Trump’s meme coin used to sell access to the White House
Pardons handed out to big donors
Amazon drops $40 million on a Melania documentary
And accountability? Nowhere in sight.
Attorney General Pam Bondi lobbied for Qatar, her firm earning $115,000 a month. FBI Director Kash Patel worked as a consultant for the Qatari Embassy.
With a feeble GOP in Congress, compromised cronies running the DOJ, and the Supreme Court granting presidents immunity for “official acts,” Trump is free to use the presidency for profit.
Sadly, this isn’t the most important news story this week.
The Republican Budget: Tax Cuts for Billionaires. Healthcare Cuts for Everyone Else.
The big question behind the Republicans’ “one big, beautiful budget bill” is simple:
How do you cut taxes for billionaires without adding to the national debt?
The answer? Healthcare.
Here’s where things stand: Trump and the GOP want to extend the 2017 tax cuts—cuts where the top 5% of earners reap 45% of the benefits.
The price tag? $4 trillion.
To cover it, Republicans are pushing $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. This week, their House committees started drafting the details. The result? Deep cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and clean energy subsidies.
My mom has written extensively about the Medicaid cuts here. The TL;DR? Millions will lose coverage. Costs will rise for working families. Access to basic care, like cancer screenings, will vanish.
All to pay for tax breaks for Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
And the kicker? Despite all these cuts, the Republican budget would still add $3.8 trillion to the debt over ten years.
This is Trump’s America First agenda. Financial gain for him. Hungry children. Higher healthcare costs for all. Crippling debt for future generations.
It’s a good deal for Trump. It’s the rest of us that get screwed.
Sources:
https://www.wsj.com/politics/gop-tax-bill-speaker-mike-johnson-01456ff6
https://nypost.com/2025/05/14/us-news/house-republicans-advance-tax-plan-after-pulling-all-nighter-but-deep-divisions-remain
https://www.investors.com/politics/trump-tax-cuts-budget-reconciliation-advance-winners-losers-outlook
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Cuts_and_Jobs_Act
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/house-tax-bill-analysis-4eec58fe
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/republican-tax-plan-boosts-salt-deduction-ends-green-energy-breaks-57bc922c
https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-markets-c3fa9600-2e7b-11f0-838d-7306682671e8https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/reagan-administration/presidential-gifts
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/politics/jet-qatar-trump-air-force-one-what-matters
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/lincoln-rejects-king-siams-offer-elephants
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/12/nx-s1-5395696/qatar-trump-plane-gift-ethics
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-poised-accept-palace-sky-gift-trump/story?id=121680511
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/past-presidents-have-tested-emoluments-clause-time-different
https://www.britannica.com/story/what-is-the-emoluments-clause
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S9-C8-2/ALDE_00013205/
https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/articles/article-i/clauses/759
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fact-check-pam-bondi-used-175300308.html
https://readsludge.com/2025/05/12/former-qatar-lobbyist-pam-bondi-approves-jet-deal/
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/05/kash-patel-qatar-fbi-trump/
https://accountable.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/A.US-Kash-Patel-Has-Profited-Consulting-for-Entities-Tied-to-Foreign-Adversaries.pdf
https://nypost.com/2025/05/13/us-news/us-leaders-received-elaborate-gifts-throughout-countrys-history/
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5298609-ethical-concerns-over-trump-jet/
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/pam-bondis-extensive-lobbying-for-wealthy-special-interests-and-foreign-government-poses-serious-conflict-of-interest
https://www.investopedia.com/kash-patel-net-worth-here-s-how-trump-s-fbi-director-made-his-money-11687334
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID4753607_code5497344.pdf?abstractid=4590349&mirid=1
https://www.newsweek.com/pam-bondi-qatar-lobbying-attorney-general-1990130
https://abcnews.go.com/US/kash-patel-trumps-pick-fbi-director-made-26m/story?id=118447126