Conservative radio host Erick Erickson rips Trump over $400M Qatari plane: Purchased with the same money used to murder American citizens

Conservative radio personality Erick Erickson issued a scathing rebuke of President Donald Trump on Monday over his decision to accept a $400 million Boeing 747-8 aircraft from the Qatari royal family—a move that has drawn growing bipartisan scrutiny.Erickson, a longtime voice in right-wing media, rejected the idea that the gift was technically a bribe or outright corruption but argued that the symbolic and moral implications of accepting such a gift from Qatar were deeply troubling.“This is my problem with taking the plane from Qatar.It’s not that it’s a bribe.

It’s not that it’s corrupt,” Erickson said on his program.“My problem with taking this plane from Qatar is I do not think the president of the United States of America should sit and fly on a plane purchased with the same money used to murder American citizens.”Erickson called the energy-rich Gulf state “a rogue regime that is not our friend” while lamenting the fact that “many people in Washington, DC, treat Qatar the way they treated China 20 years ago, as if it’s some innocent country that’s just involved in things.”The Qatari government has drawn criticism for its financial and diplomatic ties to Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union.While Qatar has denied directly funding terror operations, it has long provided sanctuary for Hamas’s political leadership and funneled billions into the Gaza Strip.The nation also maintains friendly ties with Iran, further raising concerns among critics of the Trump administration’s foreign entanglements.Erickson also took aim at Attorney General Pam Bondi, highlighting her previous work as a paid lobbyist for the Qatari government before joining Trump’s cabinet.“Pam Bondi… was a lobbyist for Qatar.She made $119,000 a month,” he said.“I don’t think that we should agree with Pam Bondi saying, ‘Oh, yes, Qatar can gift this to the Department of Defense on condition it goes to...