Vice President Mike Pence has broken mainly with his former ticketmate, Donald Trump, who essentially left him for dead on January 6, 2021. Pence ran for president against Trump in 2024, although the two never debated or appeared together, and Pence has occasionally criticized Trump since his return to the White House.
Pence gave an interview in which he explicitly criticized Trump’s decision to accept a $400 million plane from Qatar.
“Qatar has a long history of playing both sides,” Pence said on Sunday’s Meet the Press. “The very idea that we would accept an Air Force One from Qatar, I think, is inconsistent with our security, with our intelligence needs … I think it’s just a bad idea, and my hope is the president will think better of it.”
Pence went into more detail about why he opposed the jet’s acceptance.
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
“There are profound issues, the potential for intelligence gathering, the need to ensure the president of the United States is safe and secure as he travels around the world,” the former vice president said on the show. “My hope is the president reconsiders it. I think if Qatar wants to make a gift to the United States, they ought to take that $400 million and plow it into infrastructure on our military base.”
BREAKING: In a stunning moment, Mike Pence just slammed Donald Trump for being weak and capitulating to terror nations like Qatar. This is huge. pic.twitter.com/WAHsQjdS7o
— Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) May 18, 2025
In addition to numerous Democrats who have been critical of the jet gift, Pence joins other Republicans like Ben Shapiro and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who have expressed their distrust of Qatar and criticized Trump for accepting the plane.
The president has continued to state that he still plans to accept the jet and that there is nothing wrong with doing so.
3/ #POTUS47
“Everyone, including their lawyers, has been told that ABC must not say that Qatar is giving ME a FREE Boeing 747 Airplane, because they are not. Instead, and as Fake News ABC fully knows and understands, this highly respected country is donating the plane to the… pic.twitter.com/zDiMUo4nWn— Paul Ruskov Benedict (@paulbenedict7) May 18, 2025
“This highly respected country is donating the plane to the United States Air Force/ Defense Department, AND NOT TO ME,” Trump said in a Sunday Truth Social post, per NBC News, echoing arguments he’s made in recent weeks. “By so doing, they are saving our country and the American Taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
