U.S. President Donald Trump (right) speaks during a meeting with President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House on May 21, 2025, in Washington. (Getty Images)
"They're giving the United States Air Force a jet. Okay? And it's a great thing. We're talking about a lot of other things. It's NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw," Trump said. "You are a real … you know, you're a terrible reporter. Number one, you don't have what it takes to be a reporter. You're not smart enough. But for you to go into a subject about a jet that was given to the United States Air Force, which is a very nice thing."
"They also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet. Go back, you ought to go back to your studio at NBC because, Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated. They are so terrible the way you run that network. And you are a disgrace. No more questions from you," Trump continued.
"His name is Peter something. He's a terrible reporter," Trump added as he began calling on other reporters for questions.
Fox News Digital reached out to NBC News for comment on the matter but did not immediately receive a reply.
Fox News confirmed earlier Wednesday that the Department of Defense had formally accepted a 747 jetliner from Qatar.
Both Democrats and Republicans have criticized Trump after he announced the Department of Defense planned to accept a jumbo jet from the government of Qatar earlier in May, arguing the gift is riddled with both espionage concerns and constitutional questions.
HOUSE DEMOCRAT CALLS FOR 'IMMEDIATE' ETHICS PROBE OF QATARI PLANE GIFT TO TRUMP
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani welcomes President Donald Trump during an official welcoming ceremony at the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, May 14, 2025. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
Von Spakovsky said that if the plane is a government-to-government gift — meaning if Qatar gifted the plane to the Department of Defense and not as a personal gift to the president — the Trump administration is likely in the legal clear to accept the gift.
"If this gift is being considered as a gift to the government of the U.S., there is no legal issue to consider, since there is no constitutional or legal problem with such a gift. If this is a personal gift to the president, the Justice Department would be weighing the constitutional issue I have raised — whether the emoluments clause even applies to the president," he said.
TRUMP DEFENDS QATAR JUMBO JET OFFER AS TROUBLED BOEING FAILS TO DELIVER NEW AIR FORCE ONE FLEET
Trump and his administration had previously and repeatedly defended that the jet would be gifted to the Department of Defense, and used as a temporary Air Force One as Boeing has not yet delivered a new fleet of Air Force ones.
President Donald Trump's decision to accept a $400 million plane from Qatar is raising serious eyebrows — even among his staunchest supporters. (Getty Images | iStock)
"We're very disappointed that it's taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One," Trump said during a press conference on drug prices Monday morning. "You know, we have an Air Force One that's 40 years old. And if you take a look at that, compared to the new plane of the equivalent, you know, stature at the time, it's not even the same ballgame."
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"When I first came in, I signed an order to get (the new Air Force One fleet) built," he continued. "I took it over from the Obama administration, they had originally agreed. I got the price down much lower. And then, when the election didn't exactly work out the way that it should have, a lot of work was not done on the plane because a lot of people didn't know they made change orders. That was so stupid, so ridiculous. And it ended up being a total mess, a real mess."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-rips-nbc-reporter-asking-about-qatari-jet-gift-amid-tense-meeting-genocide-youre-disgrace