On May 14, Trump visited Qatar, resulting in several economic and defense deals.
On that day, Qatar Airways announced its intention to purchase 210 Boeing jets. As was the case with the United Arab Emirates, GE Aerospace will cooperate with Boeing to construct the engines for those jets.
The United States and Qatar also signed a statement of defense cooperation. That cooperation, the White House said, includes a $1 billion agreement with Raytheon for Qatar’s acquisition of counter-drone capabilities; a nearly $2 billion agreement with General Atomics for Qatar’s acquisition of a remotely piloted aircraft system; and $38 billion in potential investments including support for burden-sharing at Al Udeid Air Base, which houses Qatari, American and British airmen.
The New York Times
Trump lied that the Boeing deal was worth $200 billion, only to be contradicted by a White House fact sheet stating that the deal was actually $96 billion. The fact sheet also listed Northrop Grumman, Quantinuum, Lockheed Martin, Parsons Corporation, and McDermott International as having made deals with Qatar.
Conflicts of interest
Qatar’s $400 million bribe, which came in the form of a jet to serve as Trump’s Air Force One, is the tip of the iceberg regarding Trump and the Musk family’s corrupt dealings with the country.
The Trump Organization has agreed to a new Middle East golf course and real estate deal with Qatari Diar, a real estate company established by the country’s sovereign wealth fund and chaired by a government minister.
The Center for American Progress
Qatar also bailed out Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner after he made a critical business blunder. In 2007, the Kushner Companies purchased 666 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.
Kushner Companies’ $1.2 billion loan on 666 Fifth Avenue is transferred to a special servicer to try to restructure the debt after the Kushners reported difficulties in paying the loan. The building is appraised at $820 million, less than half of what the Kushners paid for it in 2007 and less than the debt they owe to banks.
Just Security
As Kushner struggled to service the debt on the building, he explored Chinese and Qatari sources of money. The 2017 blockade of Qatar by other American gulf allies and Egypt provided Kushner with the perfect opportunity. Trump initially supported the blockade, with Qatari officials believing he did so as retribution for Qatar’s unwillingness to bail Kushner out. It just so happened that the month after former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded the end of the blockade against Qatar, Kushner and the Qataris negotiated a bailout deal, along with Brookfield Asset Management. Yet, Kushner might as well have just negotiated with the Qataris, as the “Qatar Investment Authority is the second-largest investor in Brookfield.”
Kushner wasn’t the only one to exploit Trump’s ties to Qatar. Kimbal Musk, Elon Musk’s younger brother, also made deals with Qatar on behalf of his company, Nova Sky Stories.
