Boeing was supposed to deliver a replacement for Air Force One last year, but significant delays have cost the plane maker billions on the project. They have also drawn ire from the president, who told reporters aboard Air Force One in February that he was “not happy with Boeing” and might purchase a plane elsewhere.

Security experts told BI that the work required to make a plane from Qatar ready to be Air Force One would be like building a new plane.

Any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.

Donald Trump is the most powerful and famous person on the planet, and the American president is at the helm of the biggest economy and the strongest military.

Speaking on Air Force One just hours after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov curtly confirmed Putin would not attend, Trump turned prickly when talk turned to the Russian leader. The president had just left Qatar and was headed for the United Arab Emirates when he fielded questions on the presidential aircraft.

A $96 billion deal with Qatar Airways comes as Boeing struggles to deliver its Air Force One replacements and Trump seems poised to accept a Boeing jet from the Qatari royal family.

The White House Correspondents Association says it is disturbed that no reporters from either The Associated Press, Bloomberg or Reuters were allowed on Air Force One to cover President Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East on Monday.