Donald Trump Calls Disney Abu Dhabi Resort “Incredible” After Meeting With Bob Iger

During his visit to Abu Dhabi last week, Donald Trump made a passing reference to a meeting he had days earlier with Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger.

Iger, Trump said, showed him recently announced plans for a Disney theme park resort in the UAE.

“Bob Iger was in my office, and he was showing it to me. It is going to be incredible,” Trump said in a speech on Friday.

The resort on Yas Island “will combine Disney’s iconic stories, characters and attractions with Abu Dhabi’s vibrant culture, stunning shorelines, and breathtaking architecture,” the company said in announcing the theme park earlier this month.

A Disney spokesperson said, “Bob Iger had a productive meeting with the President to brief him on Disney’s plan to build a theme park resort in Abu Dhabi and the company’s major investments in the United States.”

The day after Trump referenced the new resort, he was again calling out Iger, this time over ABC News’ reporting on the Qatari plane deal. ABC News was the first to report that the administration was about to accept a 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar. The plan is to use the plane as Air Force One and then have it transferred to Trump’s presidential library foundation.

Trump has defended the gift, amid criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Everyone, including their lawyers, has been told that ABC must not say that Qatar is giving ME a FREE Boeing 747 Airplane, because they are not. Instead, and as Fake News ABC fully knows and understands, this highly respected country is donating the plane to the United States Air Force/ Defense Department, AND NOT TO ME.” Hinting that he would take legal action, Trump also referenced a $16 million settlement he reached with ABC over a defamation lawsuit he filed against the network last year over remarks made by George Stephanopoulos.

But even if Trump is not receiving the plane directly, it has continued to raise ethical concerns, as his library would still take ownership of it after he leaves office.

During Trump’s first term, Iger was part of the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum. But Iger, along with other CEOs including Elon Musk, resigned from the advisory board after Trump announced the withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.