Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) emphasized that discussions regarding Qatar providing a temporary aircraft to substitute for Air Force One were initiated by the Biden administration.
Speaking to CNN, Mullin highlighted the need for a temporary replacement for Air Force One, noting that President Donald Trump had been traveling on an aging aircraft. “Here’s what’s interesting to me, what the media isn’t telling you — what no one’s talking to you about, is the same 747 has been in negotiations for a year,” Mullin stated. “The Biden administration is the one that started these conversations. It didn’t start underneath the Trump administration. Why? Because we need a back-up for Air Force One.”
Mullin went on to explain that the current Air Force One model is outdated and lacks a suitable replacement in case of an emergency or technical failure. “The President of the United States is flying around on a 40-year-old plane, and there is no back-up for it,” Mullin said. “The back-up we had, the air frame started having structural issues. No one’s discussing that part.”
In a post shared on Truth Social, President Trump commented on the news that the Department of Defense would be receiving a temporary aircraft at no cost. He wrote:
“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.”
According to ABC News, individuals familiar with the agreement say the luxury Boeing 747 will first be handed over to the U.S. Air Force. It will then be adapted to meet the standards required for presidential travel. Afterward, the plane will eventually be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation.
“The plane will initially be transferred to the United States Air Force, which will modify the 13-year-old aircraft to meet the U.S. military specifications required for any aircraft used to transport the president of the United States, multiple sources familiar with the proposed arrangement said.”
“The plane will then be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation no later than Jan. 1, 2029, and any costs relating to its transfer will be paid for by the U.S. Air Force, the sources told ABC News.”
Breitbart’s Nick Gilbertson reported that when an ABC News journalist asked Trump how he’d respond to people suggesting the jet was a personal gift, Trump didn’t mince words.
The reporter began, “who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you; why not leave it—”
Trump cut in with, “You’re ABC fake news, right?”
He continued, “Let me tell you, you should be embarrassed asking that question. They’re giving us a free jet. I could say, ‘No, no, no…I want to pay you a billion or $400 million, or what it is.’ Or I could say, ‘Thank you very much.’”
Meanwhile, Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s Media Attaché to the U.S., pushed back on earlier reports, stating that while discussions were underway, no final decision had been made.
“Reports that a jet is being gifted by Qatar to the United States government during the upcoming visit of President Trump are inaccurate,” Al-Ansari said in a statement. “The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made.”
Van Jones, a CNN political analyst, stated on Sunday’s episode of State of the Union that the Democratic Party will likely face long-term consequences for hiding Joe Biden’s mental deterioration while he was serving as president.
“I was shocked. I love Joe Biden. I don’t like him, I love him. I got a chance to work with him. When I was a part of the Obama administration, I loved him more every day. I was shocked to see his condition when he came out, and so was the world. And that wasn’t the first time he was in that condition. The book makes it very, very clear there are people who knew and said nothing, and that is a crime against this republic. I think the Democrats are going to pay for a long time for being a part of what is now being revealed to be a massive cover-up,” Jones said, voicing his deep dismay over the situation.
Host Jake Tapper posed the obvious follow-up question: “The big question is, what now? What now for Democrats? And over the past week, we’ve seen some potential 2028 candidates, Pete Buttigieg, Governor Whitmer, and Governor Pritzker, saying that they didn’t know that this was going on, that they didn’t know that there were any acute cognitive issues. So we’ve heard is I was busy working. I was too far away. I didn’t see it. What do you think democrats need to say?”
In response, Jones stressed the need for internal reckoning before launching into political damage control. “I think before you get out there trying to say stuff and persuade other people, you’ve got to look inside.”
He went on to urge the party to take accountability and reassess its direction. “We need to look in the mirror, reorganize ourselves, get bad people and bad ideas out of the way, and then we’ll be able to come forward in the midterms. But right now we need to we need to we need to apologize to the American people that we were a part of, something that wasn’t on the up and up.”
{Matzav.com}
[COMMUNICATED]
Rabbi Aharon Shmuel HaCohen of Stepin (1739 – 1813), was a prime disciple of both the Maggid of Mezritch and Rabbi Pinchas of Koritz and he quotes them in his sefer. He also brings down Torah teachings from the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Zev Wolfe of Zhitomir and Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik of Koritz, author of Bris Kehunas Olam. He was a descendant of the Maharal of Prague and Rabbi Naftali Katz, author of Smichas Chachamim, and he also quotes them.President Joe Biden shared a cheerful selfie on Monday morning, expressing gratitude for the outpouring of kindness following his disclosure that he is battling an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer.
“Cancer touches us all,” the 82-year-old posted on social media, accompanying a photo of himself alongside his wife, Jill Biden, and their cat.
“Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” he added.
“Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
The message came shortly after news broke that Biden had received his diagnosis last Friday, following the discovery of a “small nodule” on his prostate during a recent exam.
Doctors later determined the cancer had metastasized to his bones and gave it a Gleason score of 9 — an indication of a highly aggressive form of the disease.
According to his spokesman, Biden began experiencing urinary issues, prompting further evaluation and ultimately leading to the diagnosis.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” his office said.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
{Matzav.com}
Senator Rand Paul appeared on ABC’s This Week Sunday and challenged the notion that trade deficits reflect any meaningful economic concern, calling the idea an “economic fallacy.”
Host Jonathan Karl brought up the issue of tariffs, noting, “Let me turn to tariffs. The president also announced a temporary reduction to those big China tariffs, still 30% tariffs on goods coming in from China as he negotiates, tries to negotiate a new deal. Walmart has warned this will result in higher prices. What is your assessment?”
In response, Paul pushed back against the rationale behind tariffs, explaining, “Well, tariffs are taxes and when you put a tax on a business, it is always passed through as a cost. There will be higher prices.” He then went on to clarify that trade isn’t something done by countries, but by individuals and companies. “What is important to know, people talk about, oh, this is America versus China. The U.S. doesn’t trade with China, you trade with Walmart, you trade with Target, you trade with Amazon. Americans go in and buy a product, it might come from China.” He illustrated his point with a simple example: “Think about it this way, think about the entire trade with China, was all TVs, a million people go to Walmart and all buy a TV, they like the quality, they like the price, they happen to come from China. Then you draw a circle around China and the U.S. and say, my goodness, it is a trade deficit, we buy all of our TVs from over there. But each individual transaction, each individual who bought a TV was happy, but how can you draw a circle around a million happy people and say they all got ripped off?”
Paul concluded that the common understanding of trade deficits is misguided. “There is an economic fallacy here and the fallacy is that trade deficits actually mean anything. They’re an artificial accounting. The only trade that means anything is the individual who buys something. That’s the only real trade and that, by very definition of its voluntary is mutually beneficial or the trade doesn’t occur.”
He closed by offering historical context to support his argument: “We had a trade deficit with China ever since 1976 and yet we got richer and they got richer.”
{Matzav.com}
