TRUMP PLANE 'ILLEGAL'

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Sunday defended plans to receive a new Air Force One as a gift.

Calling the plane a “flying palace”, ABC News says the Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet gifted from the Qatari royal family would possibly be the most expensive gift ever received by the American government.

The controversy around the jet -- and Trump's boast that it was coming "free of charge" - builds on questions the US leader is facing over potential conflicts of interest with his family businesses and use of public office.

In a social media post late Sunday that made no mention of Qatar, Trump went on the offensive to claim the plane was a temporary "gift" that would go to the Defence Department, and would replace an existing four-decade-old model.

Acceptance of the gift has raised ethical questions from both sides of the political aisle in the US as it appears to flout laws set up to stanch government corruption.

Laura Loomer, a far-right ally of Trump, said accepting Qatar's plane would be a "stain" on the administration.

She posted on X: "We cannot accept a $400 million 'gift' from jihadists in suits. The Qataris fund the same Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah who have murdered US Service Members."

The White House and his loyal Department of Justice, however, believe it is not unconstitutional, they say, because it will first be passed to the US Air Force before being turned over to the presidential library, thereby never being gifted to an individual.