Trump 2.0 Shows Striking Disdain for Norms as He Accepts a $400M Luxury Jet from Qatar

During President Trump's first term, the idea that special interests and governments were buying meals and booking rooms at his hotels set off legal and ethical alarms

President Trump’s first term saw the idea that special interests and foreign governments were paying to book meals and rooms at his hotels setting off legal and ethical alarms about the potential for corruption.

But Mr. Trump’s second term is making those concerns look trivial.

The administration’s plan to accept a $400 million luxury jet from the Qatari royal family is only the latest example of an increasingly no-holds-barred atmosphere in Washington under Trump 2.0. Not only would the famously transactional chief executive be able to use the plane while in office, but he is also expected to transfer it to his presidential foundation once he leaves the White House.

The second Trump administration is showing striking disdain for onetime norms of propriety and for traditional legal and political guardrails around public service. It is clearly emboldened, in part because of the Supreme Court’s ruling last year that granted immunity to presidents for their official actions and because of the political reality that Mr. Trump’s hold on the Republican Party means he need not fear impeachment.

Mr. Trump’s inaugural committee raked in $239 million from wealthy business interests hoping to curry his favor or at least avoid his wrath, more than doubling the previous record, $107 million, set by his inaugural committee in 2017. There is no way to spend a quarter of a billion dollars on dinners and events, and the committee has not said what will happen to leftover funds.