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'It's a threat': Trump admin tries clarifying Qatari base in US — but MAGA isn't buying it

In response to a wave of social media backlash from critics as well as MAGA voices, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a “clarification” on the social platform X Friday about a newly announced military facility involving Qatar, insisting that it falls far short of being a “foreign base” on U.S. soil.

Earlier on Friday, Hegseth and Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister & Defense Minister, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al‑Thani, formally announced a letter of acceptance to construct a Qatar Emiri Air Force facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.

The purpose, Hegseth said, is to host Qatari F‑15 fighter jets and pilots for training alongside U.S. forces, to “enhance our combined training, increase lethality, [and] interoperability.”

The facility is to be funded by Qatar and built by U.S.-based contractors under the oversight of the U.S. military. The announcement triggered a storm of criticism from conservative commentators and activists.

Some took to social media accusing the administration of effectively ceding American land to a foreign power, warning of national security risks and questioning Qatar’s ties to extremist organizations.

Following the backlash, Hegseth posted on X: “To be clear, Qatar will not have their own base in the United States — nor anything like a base. We control the existing base, like we do with all partners.” However, several commentators were not satisfied by the explanation — including some firmly in the MAGA camp.

Conservative social media influencer Angela Van Der Pluym wrote: “The islamification of American in real time! What does your kafir tattoo even mean at this point? One of the biggest financiers of terrorism in the world made a deal to train fighter pilots on American soil. Oh joyous day!”

Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer replied to the secretary’s post and wrote: “Nobody wants the funders of HAMAS in America being trained to fly fighter jets on US soil. A jihadist in a suit is still a jihadi. It’s a threat to our national security.”

Podcaster and former Obama advisor Dan Pfeiffer reacted to Hegseth’s post and said: “F—— ups like this are why you don’t put Brian Kilmeade’s understudy in charge of the Pentagon.”

AP reporter Konstantin Toropin wrote: “This clarification comes after @LauraLoomer spent the day leveling harsh criticism against the move. She called the plan an 'abomination’ and accused the Qataris of being associated with Islamic terror organizations. Also this is Hegseth’s personal account.”

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'Where I draw the line': MAGA furious over Trump allowing foreign military base on US soil

Conservative hard‑liners erupted in outrage Friday after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth greenlit plans for a Qatari air force facility on U.S. soil, accusing the administration of “enabling foreign control” on American bases and doubling down on sovereignty grievances.

Hegseth announced Friday morning that the U.S. has signed a “letter of acceptance” to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, which will host Qatari F‑15 jets and pilots for joint training.

The move, made amid diplomatic praise for Qatar’s role in mediating a Gaza ceasefire, formalizes deeper military cooperation — though many details, including cost, duration, and security protocols, remain undisclosed.

Since the announcement, prominent activists aligned with President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement have criticized the decision.

MAGA influencer Laura Loomer wrote on the social platform X: "Never thought I’d see Republicans give terror financing Muslims from Qatar a MILITARY BASE on US soil so they can murder Americans. I don’t think I’ll be voting in 2026. I cannot in good conscience make any excuses for the harboring of jihadis. This is where I draw the line."

In another post, she said, "There isn’t a single Trump supporter who supports allowing Qatar to have a military base on US soil. I don’t know who told President Trump this was a good idea, but it has made people not want to vote. This is the type of thing I would expect from a President Ilhan Omar."

Conservative writer Phil Holloway wrote: "I did not vote for having foreign military bases in Idaho."

Conservative commentator Josh Hammer wrote: "Qatar is not our friend."

"I did NOT vote for this," said MAGA influencer Ann Vandersteel.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald noted: "The gap between how the pro-Israel MAGA faction talks about Qatar, and Trump's treatment of Qatar, could not be wider. That faction constantly depicts Qatar as an evil terror regime infiltrating US institutions. Meanwhile, Trump loves Qatar, heaps praise on it, and now this:"

Pro-Trump podcaster Tim Pool wrote: "The Qataris control our government and have infiltrated our media Thay proves it." [sic]

Podcaster Dave Rubin wrote: "Imagine what the Woke Right crew would be saying if this was Israel. Instead, crickets, of course…"

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'Bona fide gift': Here's how much taxpayers now have to pony up for Trump's new luxury jet

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s memorandum of understanding with Qatar enabled the U.S. to receive a $400 million Boeing 747‑8 as a “bona fide gift”, but taxpayers may now face over $1 billion in retrofit expenses and redirected Pentagon funding, ABC News reported Monday.

In early July, Hegseth signed an agreement formally accepting Qatar’s “unconditional donation” of the jet, legally framed as a “bona fide gift” to the Department of Defense. The MoU explicitly states the transfer was made “in good faith… in the spirit of cooperation,” and disclaims any implication of bribery or undue influence.

However, despite the aircraft being cost‑free on paper, the Air Force has been ordered to prepare plans to convert it for presidential use. Although Air Force Secretary Troy Meink testified that retrofitting costs would be under $400 million, lawmakers and aviation analysts estimate the total — including classified security upgrades — could exceed $1 billion.

During a Senate hearing last month, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill) warned the move could “force taxpayers to waste over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to overhaul this particular aircraft” while two fully capable Air Force One jets remain operational.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-N.Y.) echoed those concerns, saying: “Why would we ask the American taxpayer to spend upwards of $1 billion on a plane … then transfer directly to the president?”

Critics also highlight the financial opacity surrounding the deal. During a Senate Appropriations hearing, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) pressed Hegseth on cost disclosures, only to be told that contract details were “not for public consumption.”

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that Air Force officials appear to have disguised the cost of revamping the Qatar‑donated jet by embedding it within the over‑budget Sentinel nuclear missile modernization program.

A recently revealed $934 million reallocation from the Pentagon’s beleaguered Sentinel ICBM modernization program has alarmed lawmakers, even as officials insist the missile project remains fully funded.

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'Get out of here': Trump erupts after NBC reporter asks about Qatari jet

President Donald Trump called for an investigation into NBC News and the CEO of its parent company after one of the network’s top reporters pressed him on the Pentagon’s Wednesday afternoon acceptance of a $400 million luxury airliner from Qatar—a gift some legal scholars warn may violate the Constitution without congressional approval.

“The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Wednesday, as The New York Times reported. “The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.”

Estimates range as high as one billion dollars for work that would be required to make the luxury jetliner capable of acting as a mission center to not only transport the President but protect them and other top officials in the event of crisis or war.

Experts “said that accepting the 13-year-old jet would likely cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time, noting that refurbishing the commercial plane would exceed its current value of $400 million,” NBC News reported last week. “The project might also not be completed by the end of Trump’s term in 2029, at which time the plane is expected to be handed over to Trump’s presidential library foundation.”

But when confronted with a question about the jet, President Trump appeared combative and visibly angered.

“What are you talking about?” Trump asked NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander during an Oval Office meeting with the President of South Africa. “You know, you ought to get out of here.”

“What does this have to do with the Qatar jet? They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet, okay? And it’s a great thing. We’re talking about a lot of other things. It’s NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw. You are a real — You know, you’re a terrible reporter,” Trump charged.

“Number one, you don’t have what it takes to be a reporter. You’re not smart enough, but for you to go into a subject about a jet that was given to the United States Air Force, which is a very nice thing, they also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet. Go back, you ought to go back to your studio at NBC because [Comcast CEO] Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated.”

“They are so terrible, the way you run that that. And you’re a disgrace. No more questions from you.”

Moments later, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, jokingly remarked, “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.”

“I wish you did,” Trump replied, also saying he would accept it.

HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte remarked: “And there you have it. If Palestinians want their own state, they need to come up with a half billion dollar luxury jet to give Trump. Same with Zelenskyy, if he wants US help.”

Before the announcement that the U.S. has formally accepted the jet, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a former constitutional law professor, wrote: “I’ve introduced an amendment to block Trump from accepting his $400 million Bribe Force One from Qatar, a jumbo global scandal. It’s unconstitutional to take a foreign present ‘of any kind whatever’ from a foreign state, but House Republicans won’t even give me a vote. They don’t give a flying Emolument.”

Critics blasted and mocked the President.

“Someone’s getting testy about his Flying Bribery Palace,” wrote civil liberties and national security journalist Marcy Wheeler.

“Donald Trump has put a ‘for sale’ sign on the White House,” charged U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). “He’s accepting a $400 million jet from Qatar – rubber stamped by AG Pam Bondi, a registered foreign agent for Qatar. He’s accepting $300 million from a company tied to the PRC and TikTok. This is corruption, plain and simple.”

[Bondi is a former registered foreign agent for Qatar.]

Watch the video below or at this link.

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'Been in the works for years': Trump busted over taking credit for deals that aren't his

The Washington Post reports White House claims of “the dealmaker in chief” securing more than $2 trillion in investment agreements during his Middle East tour this week appears exaggerated. Possibly, by a lot.

The administration announced $8.5 billion in projects involving Texas energy company McDermott, with one focused on Qatar’s liquefied natural gas expansion, for example. But the paper reports McDermott had already announced contracts for that initiative during former President Joe Biden’s administration as far back as 2023.

Another White House announcement of a $200 billion “new” cloud computing deal between Amazon and a United Arab Emirates state-owned telecommunications company had already been announced by Amazon in October. In fact, the $181 billion estimate the White House lauded for the local economy from the deal was already sitting in an Amazon-sponsored study from May 2023.

Still another announcement regarding a $2 billion General Atomics agreement to sell drones to Qatar had already “been in the works for years,” according to a congressional aide. The notification for the drone contract was sent to Congress last March. And another $38 billion in “potential investments” announced by the White House hardly counts as a “deal” if it’s only potential. That $38 billion claim currently exists only in a “statement of intent” the administration penned with Qatar.

“A lot of it is going to be aspirational,” said Hussein Ibish, a senior resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. “A lot of it is going to be promised and not delivered on.”

The Post collected statements from anonymous Middle Eastern officials admitting Saudi Arabia doesn’t have enough cash on hand to fund everything Trump has promised Americans. And some are not sure the money is there to fund even half the claims.

Some of Trump’s big numbers could be arising from smoke blowing in from strange places. One businessman close to the Saudi royal family claims the family reached out to “all the top businessmen” in the Gulf nation “and they were asked, ‘How much have you invested in the United States in the last two years? How much have you put in the United States in any kind of investment — real estate, stocks, bonds?”

The intent, said the anonymous source, was to give the U.S. president a nice, big number that would look good on press releases.

Read the full Washington Post report at this link.

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'Fully prostrate on the ground': Trump ripped for 'humiliating' display to Arab leaders

Discussing President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East, senior foreign policy journalist Michael Weiss said that Trump wants to transform the United States into a version of authoritarianism similar to that practiced by the dictators with whom he appears to be cordial.

"Don't discount the fact what Donald Trump sees in these dictators and these autocrats and these strongmen is exactly what he would like to do in the United States," Weiss said on the Bulwark's podcast with host Tim Miler. "He wants to turn the United States into a version of this," he added.

On Wednesday, Trump requested Qatar’s emir, a close ally of the Iranian government, to help him find a solution to the Iran situation.

“I hope you can help me with the Iran situation,” Trump told the emir, who was beside him in a dining room in Doha. Trump has been facing criticism for accepting a $400 million jet as a gift from Qatar.

On Tuesday, Trump said he had "never believed in having permanent enemies,” during a speech at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh. “I am different than a lot of people think," he added.

Trump's message to the audiences in the Middle East has been that he is ready to move beyond past conflicts in pursuit of peace and economic gain.

During the same speech, Trump revealed plans to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, offering potential economic relief to a nation long plagued by dictatorship, civil war, terrorism, and the effects of global isolation.

“The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important — really, an important function, nevertheless, at the time,” Trump said of Syria, adding: “But now, it’s their time to shine.”

Trump also held a meeting in Riyadh with Syria’s new president Ahmed al-Shara, who previously had affiliations with Al Qaeda. His rebel faction is officially labeled a terrorist group by the U.S. (although the government has since withdrawn a $10 million bounty on him).

Criticizing Trump's engagements in the Middle East during the podcast released Thursday, Miller said there was a "little bit of humiliating element to this," because Trump has long said the U.S should not allow other nations to "take advantage" of the country.

"He is lavishly tossing MBS's salad, giving old leftovers from Qatar. We've got natural gas. We got oil. What's the point of this?" Miller asked.

"Trump is fully prostrate on the ground," he added.

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'Mad king': Trump teases 'fourth' term to US troops overseas

During a rally-style appearance before uniformed U.S. troops in Qatar on Thursday, President Donald Trump—serving as their Commander-in-Chief—floated the idea of a “fourth” term and falsely claimed victory in the 2020 election he lost. The appearance drew swift criticism for blurring the line between military service and political theater.

“As you know, we won three elections, okay?” Trump told the largely silent troops (video below). “And some people want us to do a fourth. I don’t know—I’ll have to think about that.”

“You saw the new, the new hat. The hottest hat is, it says, ‘Trump 2028: We’re driving the left crazy.'”

“When you see that. We didn’t need that hat, but, uh, it was it’s been an amazing period of time,” he concluded.

Noting that Trump was speaking “at the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East,” CNN reported that the President “thanked the U.S. troops for political support.”

“There’s – nobody been stronger than the military in terms of backing us, nobody,” Trump said. “So, I just want to thank you all very much. Great honor. Thank you very much.”

CBS News national security coordinating producer Jim LaPorta, who has reported extensively on the military, wrote: “If this was a rally, the president’s remarks would be fine. But in front of service members who are expected to be apolitical, many Defense Department officials would find these remarks inappropriate.”

The Bulwark’s Sam Stein observed: “Treating the troops like they’re at a campaign rally and sowing doubt about the past and future of American elections — all in one soundbite.”

Democratic pollster and strategist Luke Martin called it “especially jarring to see Trump flirting with blowing a hole in the Constitution in front of an entire crowd of people who literally swore an oath to protect it with their life.”

Independent journalist Mike Rothschild noted: “Making a statement like this in front of active duty troops would have generated months of scandal, hearings, and resignations in years gone by. Now it’s just another Thursday with the Mad King.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

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'Frankly pathetic': World leaders treat Trump like a 'toddler' who needs a 'shiny toy'

International columnists Lydia Polgreen and Nick Kristof discussed with the New York Times how the world is coming to terms with an international superpower run by what they perceive to be a "toddler."

“It may be risky, but it’s also pretty pathetic that we essentially have world leaders treating the president of the United States like a toddler who needs to be placated with a shiny toy,” said Polgreen. “The latest shiny toy, of course, being a $400 million plane that the government of Qatar is apparently donating — whatever that means — to the United States.”

“There’s something really sinister and frankly pathetic about this way of operating in the world,” she added, which ultimately means the U.S. government, is “catering to the venal and … childish desires of one very immature man.”

Kristoff acknowledged seeing similar examples of childish appeasement in North Korea.

“I once visited a museum in North Korea that was filled with gifts to the Kim dictators, and it was this incredible monument to the idea of a personality cult. I spent much of my career … mocking personality cults; they were funny. And then all of a sudden you see cabinet meetings in the U.S. that sound, frankly, a lot like North Korean cabinet meetings.”

Consider audio clips of U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth telling President Donald Trump “we’re making the military great again”… “because of your leadership, sir.”

In that same April cabinet meeting Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler told Trump, “I want to thank you for standing up to the Chinese Communist Party and fighting for our Main Streets, for our workers and for those that make things in America.” Attorney General Pam Bondi spent the meeting stroking Trump’s ego with statements like: “Your first 100 days has far exceeded that of any other presidency in this country. Ever,” and “You were overwhelmingly elected by the biggest majority,” in contradiction to the facts.

After additional heaping adulation from U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum, Trump turned expectantly to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“Very good. Thank you. Marco?” he prodded.

Both columnists believed it would take years for the U.S. to recover its image with international allies who had once respected it.

Kristof said the essence of NATO “is realistically dead.”

“If Russia invaded Estonia tomorrow, the U.S. would not join other countries in intervening to protect Estonia. That kind of collective security, which has been the foundation of the international system since 1949, is, in practice, gone.

“Can we recover what we had before? Can we rebuild this? And I think the consensus is that we’re never going to be able to fully get back what we had, that it’s going to be decades before Canada trusts us again the way it once did. NATO will be hard to recover,” Kristof said.

Polgreen said the international community was surely making note of Trump’s blatant surrender on international conflicts while declaring victory. The Houthis assault, she said, ended “essentially … because they couldn’t achieve anything very quickly, and because it was costing about a billion dollars a month.”

“Trump essentially decided to pull up stakes and say, “You know what, we’re just going to declare victory. … [T]he message that you’re sending to the world is, ‘We’re going to bully. But if we can’t get what we want really quickly, then we’re actually just going to try and package whatever we can and salvage it as a ‘win,’ and then move on.’”

Read the full New York Times report here.

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'Blissfully ignorant': Jen Psaki brutally mocks 'simple country lawyer' Mike Johnson

On the Wednesday episode of her MSNBC show "The Briefing," host Jen Psaki took House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Republicans in Congress to task for their unwillingness to address President Donald Trump's increasingly brazen attitude toward accepting illegal gifts.

Psaki began the segment by playing a clip of Trump speaking to reporters from Air Force One, in which he denied knowledge of a major infusion of foreign money benefiting him directly. In that deal, the government of Abu Dhabi announced a massive $2 billion investment into a cryptocurrency exchange using a "stablecoin" developed by World Liberty Financial — the company his adult children operate.

"This whole deal seems like the kind of thing that would, in most circumstances, pique the interest of Republicans in Congress," Psaki said. "I mean, really, anyone in Congress. After all, Republicans spent years crowing about alleged foreign business deals of the so-called 'Biden crime family' as they deemed it. I mean, a $400 million plane plus a $2 billion crypto deal from the governments of countries in the Middle East does kind of make all of that seem like small ball."

Psaki then focused specifically on the speaker, scoffing at the Louisiana Republican's assertion that he wasn't up to speed on either the $2 billion crypto investment, the ongoing questions surrounding his promotion of a memecoin named after him or a $400 million Qatari jet he's hoping to have serve as a backup Air Force One.

"Noted crime hunter Mike Johnson surely has an opinion about that, right? He must," Psaki said, before playing a clip of Johnson telling reporters he didn't "know anything about the memecoin thing."

"I would note that coverage of the crypto deals has been pretty extensive. It's all over the place, everybody's covering it. And yet somehow the speaker of the House is blissfully ignorant? Doesn't know a thing about it?" Psaki continued. "All right, so maybe all this crypto stuff is too complicated, if i'm being generous, for a simple country lawyer like Mike Johnson. Maybe that's the thing. What about Trump's palace in the sky, courtesy of Qatar? I mean, that is everywhere. Surely the speaker of the House must have some thoughts on that one, right?"

She then played a clip of a reporter asking Johnson if he thought Congress "should have approval" over whether Trump can accept the controversial Qatari jet, which let to Johnson saying he was "a little busy on reconciliation" and was "not following all the twists and turns of the Qatar jet."

"I'm going to leave it to the [Trump] administration," Johnson said. "They know much more about the details of that, OK? I'm just, it's not my lane."

"First of all, it's not at all very twisty or very turny," Psaki said. "It's a $400 million plane from Qatar that experts say could cost American taxpayers $1 billion. And again, it's hard to turn on a television and not see coverage of the plane. But hey, it's not his lane."

"So, you know, maybe he could ask whoever is supposed to approve presidential emoluments, right? Maybe he could ask that question of somebody. That would be, hold on, let me just check my notes here, who does that? Oh, right. Yeah. The United States Congress, of which he is the highest ranking member," she continued. "It's literally their responsibility to approve such things."

"But really, this may be nothing more complicated, probably is, then Mike Johnson taking a page right out of Donald Trump and his administration's know-nothing, we-know-nothing-about-it playbook," she added.

Watch the full segment below, or by clicking this link.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

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'Ask Qatar to buy her one': Noem ripped for allegedly seeking $50M for new private jet

Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ohio) criticized Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday, stating that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security — on which Underwood serves as the ranking member — received a last-minute addition to the Coast Guard’s spending plan: $50 million for a new Gulfstream V jet intended for Noem’s personal use.

"She already has a Gulfstream 5, by the way, but she wants a new one paid for with your taxpayer dollars. We should be investing in our national security and improving the lives of our Coasties – not wasting taxpayer dollars on luxury travel and political stunts," Underwood wrote in a post on the social platform X.

Reacting to her post, former DHS spokesperson Alex Howard said in an X post: "This isn’t a spend plan — it’s a shopping spree. While Coasties fix ships with duct tape, Noem’s ordering her second Gulfstream like she’s replacing a stolen handbag. DHS under MAGA is less about homeland security, more about homeland celebrity."

Bloomberg columnist Matthew Yglesias wrote: "Should just ask Qatar to buy her one."

"Kristi Noem doesn't need ANOTHER plane to do even more photo ops and costume changes. She's already spending taxpayer money so fast this year the Department is about to be broke," said a post from House Homeland Security Committee Democrat's official account, quoting Underwood's post.

Political commentator Fred Wellman wrote: "Of course. She wants a better private jet for her stunts."

Earlier on Wednesday, Noem testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security, where several Democratic members questioned her sharply.

According to Rolling Stone, she was challenged on a number of controversies that occurred during her tenure leading DHS. These included her alleged withholding of congressionally approved funds, the continued detention of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador despite several court rulings, and her refusal to admit that a manipulated image was used to support Abrego Garcia's deportation, among other issues.

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'Gross and corrupt': Nicolle Wallace slams Trump as 'for sale' to Middle Eastern leaders

In the first foreign trip of his second term, President Donald Trump chose to go to Gulf Arab states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar — and is notably doing so at the same time as he's trying to accept a $400 million jet used by the Qatari royal family as an Air Force One backup.

On the Wednesday episode of her show "Deadline: White House," MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace invited author Anne Applebaum and former Republican strategist Amanda Carpenter onto a panel to discuss Trump openly welcoming the largesse of foreign leaders seeking to curry favor with the U.S. government. Wallace observed that while Trump also went to Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip of his first term, he also made stops in Israel and in Europe — something he's not doing on this trip.

The MSNBC host openly wondered: "What message does it send when this is all out in the open? When Trump is ... making [it] abundantly clear that the region where his sons are also publicly touting business deals is the focus and the priority?"

"It's been pretty clear that this is the part of the world that his family and/or his entourage find the most interesting to do business in, and it's impossible not to conclude that that's that's why he's there," Applebaum said. "I think what's very unusual for Americans, is to see our president, our leader, acting not on behalf of the interests of all Americans, but on the interests of himself."

Wallace agreed with Applebaum's point, and then suggested that Trump's ease with accepting extravagant gifts from foreign leaders was undermining the "strongman" image he strives to cultivate among his base.

"In this country, there's nothing more sort of politically flaccid than being for sale," said Wallace, who was previously the White House communications director for Republican President George W. Bush. "It's completely untraditional in terms of the things that make Americans think their leader is strong, to look bought and paid for by mideast royalty."

"There's nothing sort of traditionally Republican popular among Republican voters to being completely possessed by the lavish gifts being given to an American leader," she added later in the segment. "We're supposed to be the people that they need. We're not supposed to need their benevolence and money ... It's not just gross and corrupt. It's completely politically feckless."

Watch the video below, or by clicking this link.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

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