‘It’s a bribe’: MAGA media stars bash Trump’s reported Qatar plane gift

“Indefensible.” “It’s a bribe.” “Such a stain” on the administration.

Some of President Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters are among the loudest critics of his plan to accept a jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One.

In a rare break from the cheerleading that typifies MAGA media outlets, some commentators are using their platforms to urge Trump to change his mind about the highly unusual gift. Others are encouraging Trump voters to consider how they’d react if a Democratic president hatched the same plan.

“I think if we switched the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we’d all be freaking out on the right,” Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro said Monday on his podcast.

Shapiro also linked the potential Qatari deal with other reports of “influence peddling,” like Trump’s cryptocurrency sweepstakes.

“The administration’s policy is too important for this sort of activity,” Shapiro said, emphasizing that he wants Trump to succeed. “President Trump promised to drain the swamp. This is not, in fact, draining the swamp.”

Some Trump-aligned commentators and social media stars are echoing the president’s talking points about the luxury jet, including his insistence that only “stupid people” would turn down such a gift. Some MAGA media outlets are deflecting the criticism by sowing doubt about the media coverage of the controversy.