A Pentagon agreement with Qatar has sparked fierce backlash among America First Republicans, igniting confusion over foreign military presence on U.S. soil.
Defense officials’ plans to build a Qatar Emiri Air Force training facility inside an established U.S. airbase led to claims—quickly disputed by the administration—that a foreign country was getting its own military base in Idaho, The Hill reported.
On October 10, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced from the Pentagon that the U.S. would sign a letter of acceptance to create a Qatari pilot training facility at Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho. The program would be part of a bilateral training agreement and involve Qatari F-15 fighter jets stationed temporarily at the shared facility.
Conservatives Erupt Over National Sovereignty Concerns
That announcement lit a fuse among populist-conservative figures who took to social media to accuse the Trump administration of violating an American red line—allowing foreign militaries to set up operations on U.S. territory.
Leading the charge was far-right media provocateur Laura Loomer, who blasted the move on X, formerly Twitter. “No foreign country should have a military base on US soil. Especially Islamic countries,” she declared.
Loomer’s post went even further, accusing the administration of opening the doors to “terror financing Muslims from Qatar” and vowing that she won’t vote in 2026 in protest. Her remarks, unsurprisingly, stoked online ire and drew headlines. But officials insist her conclusions are simply wrong.
Vance Shuts Down Base Claims as Misinformation
Vice President J.D. Vance fired back during an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” calling the whole uproar “largely a fake story.”
“We’re not going to let a foreign country have an actual base on American soil,” Vance said. “There’s a bit of misreporting on that, as there often is.”
According to Vance, this is simply a case of coordinated training—something the U.S. has done for years with military partners around the world. “We have relationships where sometimes their pilots work on our bases, sometimes we train together,” he said. This, he argued, “does not mean they’re building a base here.”
Training Site Keeps Control in U.S. Hands
The facts back up this outcry-countering clarification. The training arrangement is limited to an embedded facility inside a U.S.-controlled airbase—operated by the U.S. military, under U.S. command.
Qatar’s own media attaché confirmed that no independent Qatari base will exist, stating the Gulf nation is funding a 10-year commitment to shared infrastructure for training only. That’s hardly a new or radical concept; plenty of allies participate in joint exercises on U.S. soil without raising sovereignty alarm bells.
Yet in this moment of heightened sensitivity—especially on issues related to national security and immigration—even a shared runway with a foreign flag has become political TNT.
Partnership Draws on Wartime Cooperation
Standing side by side with Qatari Defense Minister Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Hegseth applauded the deal and the two countries’ growing cooperation. “We’re grateful for the strong partnership that we have,” Hegseth said, citing Qatar’s well-known support for U.S. troops at Al Udeid Air Base in the Gulf State.
The broader relationship with Qatar has deepened in recent weeks, even beyond this new training deal. The Trump administration has leaned on the Gulf nation in the wake of its role in mediating talks between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier this month, President Trump even issued an executive order to strengthen protections for Qatar after an Israeli airstrike in Doha resulted in civilian deaths, including one Qatari security officer. All signs point to warming ties—and that’s what has some conservatives signaling concern over the direction of foreign policy priorities.
