Ann Coulter compares Trump’s Qatari jet to accepting the Statue of Liberty. It doesn’t go well for her
Ann Coulter smugly compared President Donald Trump accepting a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar to France gifting the U.S. the Statue of Liberty. It did not go well for her.
Trump has been under fire as of late after being offered a jet so luxurious, it’s referred to as a "palace in the sky." The idea is that it will temporarily replace Air Force One, then ultimately be decommissioned after Trump leaves office and be given to his presidential library.
To many, it looks precisely like a very large, very public bribe from another country. It’s raised security concerns, left experts pointing out American taxpayers will actually foot a hefty bill for it, and had others alleging that it is illegal and unconstitutional.
Trump has remained unconcerned and appears poised to accept the jet, even as folks who normally bend over backwards to support him express their dissent.
But he’s got at least one right-winger in his corner. Conservative pundit and lawyer Ann Coulter took to X to defend the president.
"I can’t wait for the press to find out about France’s so-called 'gift' of the Statue of Liberty, accepted in 1886 by then-President Grover Cleveland," she wrote on Tuesday.
Are the Statue of Liberty and the Qatari jet the same?
"The President was authorized and directed to accept the statue by a joint resolution of Congress on March 3,1877," reads the context added to her post. "As of 5/13/25, there is no indication Congress will be voting on acceptance of Qatar’s plane."
That’s a fairly key point. The Statue of Liberty was accepted as a gift legally and with the full approval of Congress. That’s part of why we have different branches of government, even if some Trump fans believe that anything he does should inherently be legal simply because he is the president.
There are also several other things to consider within this comparison. First, the Statue of Liberty was worth $250,000 in 1880. That translates to around $7 million today, although some suggest that if it were literally built today, the increase in other costs could make that shoot up to $20 million. Either way, it’s a far cry from $400 million.
Secondly—and also quite important—is that Cleveland did not keep the Statue of Liberty for himself after he left office. The optics about what might have gone on behind the scenes are entirely different when one gift is a symbol intended for the entire country and another primarily benefits one person.
Coulter gets schooled
Although Coulter clearly thinks she said something profound, people with common sense, historical context, and/or the most basic Google skills were quick to shut her down.
Grover Cleveland using the Statue of Liberty as his private plane in 1886 (colorized): https://t.co/mFGDw0s1Yt pic.twitter.com/ljPnGNVVJd
— Juggalos For Context???????? (@ebarcuzzi) May 13, 2025
Anyway, stay in school, kids!
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