President Donald Trump defended the prospect of accepting the gift of a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar, even as criticism emerged from both sides of the aisle.

“Only a fool would not accept this gift on behalf of our country” said Trump of the offer.

“The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years. It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive,” Trump said via his Truth Social media platform while in the midst of a tour of the Middle East.

Trump wondered why the U.S. military should be on the hook for paying for a new aircraft when one is available “for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done.”

But criticism of the proposal has emerged and increasingly come from both sides of the aisle.

“We need to look at the constitutionality of it,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who said she’d be concerned about possible spying devices installed on the plane. Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said that Trump had said he would follow the law, and “that’s the right answer.”

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said Trump shouldn’t accept the jet. “I don’t think it looks good or smells good,” Paul said. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he’d prefer “a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America.”

And on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., declined to give a direct opinion on the possible deal, but said that if it happens, “I can assure you there will be plenty of scrutiny.”

According to reports, the Qatari Ministry of Defense would transfer the Boeing 747-8 to the Pentagon, who will outfit the “palace in the sky” with the security and communications equipment necessary for it to serve as Air Force One. The aircraft would later, upon Trump’s exit from office, become the property of his as-yet-unbuilt presidential library and apparently remain available for his personal use.

Trump likened the gift to the Statue of Liberty from France or the gift of the Resolute Desk from Queen Victoria to then-President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.

On Monday, he told poll reporters that he “would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s ostentatious “gift” is anything but.

“This is a bribe and a national security betrayal,” he said via social media.

Schumer has vowed to put a hold on Trump’s judicial nominations in the Senate until he gets answers on the deal.

The Bay State’s U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Trump’s plan “to accept a $400 million jet from a foreign government is corrupt and unconstitutional.”

“He’s making deals for himself while making life less affordable for you,” she said.

But Trump said he doesn’t see much difference between taking the plane and accepting a conceded hole on the golf course.

“When they give you a putt, you pick it up and you walk to the next hole and you say, ‘Thank you very much,’” he said.

The U.S. Constitution prohibits federal officials from accepting valuables or “emoluments,” from foreign governments without congressional approval. The Statue of Liberty, for example was approved by Congress in 1887 and then-President Grover Cleveland was instructed to accept the gift on behalf of the nation.

“No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State,” Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution, or the Foreign Emoluments Clause, reads in part.

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