For most people, exchanging gifts is reserved for special occasions: birthdays, holidays, graduations. For presidents, it happens nearly every day. Many presents that reach the White House’s gifts office come from citizens of the United States and other countries, according to the National Archives and Records Administration. More elaborate are the gifts of state — those given to presidents and first family members by foreign leaders in the name of diplomacy.
In 2008, President George W. Bush was gifted a pair of inline skates from the Netherlands. In 2011, President Barack Obama was given a red, white and blue basketball signed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. At least two presidents — Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan — received baby elephants.
The tradition of presidential gifts was brought to the forefront Sunday when Donald Trump said he planned to accept a Boeing jet from Qatar that would temporarily serve as Air Force One. The announcement raised questions about whether taking the plane, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, would violate law on foreign gifts.
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