Donald Trump’s administration is being criticized by his own supporters over plans to construct a Qatari air force facility in Idaho.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed the intention to build a “Qatar Emiri Air Force facility” at Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho. Qatar will finance the facility, which the country will use to train its pilots to operate F-15 fighter jets purchased from the U.S.
The proposal quickly sparked opposition from prominent MAGA influencers and advocates of Donald Trump’s “America First” policy.
, former White House chief strategist during Trump’s first term, stated that “there should never be a military base of a foreign power on the sacred soil of America.”
The agreement also faced criticism from Laura Loomer, a strong MAGA supporter and self-proclaimed Islamophobe, who wields considerable influence within the White House and has claimed responsibility for several appointments and dismissals of high-ranking officials in the Trump Administration.
“Never thought I’d see Republicans give terror financing Muslims from Qatar a MILITARY BASE on US soil so they can murder Americans,” Loomer posted on Friday. It’s important to note that the deal involves a facility within a U.S. base, not a separate military base for Qatar.
“The Qatari influence on the Trump administration is totally out of control,” Loomer added in another post. “It’s inappropriate to let Qatari’s have an Air Force base on US soil.”
Loomer also shared a video of Trump speaking in 2017 in which he “at a very high level.”
Loomer has described herself as a “” and called 9/11 an “.”. She previously campaigned successfully for the Trump Administration to for Palestinians affected by the Gaza war.
The deal also drew criticism from conservatives beyond the MAGA base.
Noah Rothman, a writer for the conservative news outlet The National Review, questioned, “What’s the strategic rationale for this? Either ours or Qatar’s?”
“You could easily list all the problems/risks we’re inviting. But I have no idea what the strongest argument in favor of this would be? I’m sure we don’t need to import any more Qatari covert assets into this country,” he wrote on X.
Republican political consultant and commentator Mike Madrid posted on X: “Joe Biden was criticized for a Chinese balloon flying over our airspace. They’re giving Qatar an entire f’ing air base.”
In a clarifying statement released late Friday, Hegseth emphasized that the airbase would remain under U.S. jurisdiction, and the Qatari air force would not have its own independent base.
When TIME reached out for comment regarding the conservative backlash, the Department of Defense referred them to Hegseth’s social media post. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Many have pointed out the similarities between the agreement with Qatar and existing arrangements with other countries. The German air force still operates a tactical training command in Texas, following decades in New Mexico, and over 1,000 Singaporean military personnel train in the U.S. annually. Pilots from several other NATO allies also receive training in the U.S.
However, Donald Trump’s relationship with Qatar has faced increased scrutiny in recent months due to a series of deals both inside and outside of government.
In April, the Trump family company finalized an agreement to construct a luxury golf resort in Qatar. The following month, Trump announced his intention to accept a luxury Boeing jet as a gift from the Qatari government, claiming on Truth Social that the “free” gift would save U.S. money and that “only a FOOL would not accept” it.
This proposal drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the move as “the kind of thing that even Putin would give a double take,” and Republican lawmakers also expressed national security concerns regarding the $400 million plane.
“He’s going to turn Air Force One into Bribe Force One,” Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts told TIME in May.
The Qatari deal follows the nation’s role, alongside the U.S. and Egypt, as a mediator in peace talks that resulted in the recently implemented Israel-Hamas peace agreement and ceasefire. As part of the first phase of the agreement, Israel withdrew its forces in the Gaza Strip to agreed-upon lines on Friday, and Hamas is now expected to release the remaining 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. The U.S. plans to deploy 200 troops to Israel to monitor the deal.
“No one other than President Trump could have achieved the peace—what we believe will be a lasting peace—in Gaza, and Qatar played a substantial role from the beginning, working with our folks to make sure that came about,” Hegseth stated during the announcement of the air base in Idaho.
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