Trillions in investments to follow Trump's Middle East trip
and as a bonus, Trump may get a palace in the sky!
Saudi Arabia once again is the first nation Trump officially visited as President of the United States (not including his recent attendance of Pope Francis’s funeral in Vatican City).
His administration faces two ongoing global conflicts in Israel and Ukraine and wants to renegotiate trade deals with seemingly every nation on Earth. Since returning to the White House, Trump has welcomed a number of world leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (in)famously Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “the world’s coolest dictator” Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and met with Argentine President Javier Milei at CPAC 2025.
Yet after “Liberation Day” on April 2nd which upended global stock markets and only one trade deal to show for it, Donald Trump intentionally chose to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates - none of which rank as a top 15 trading partner of the United States. Yesterday the president spoke in Riyadh at the U.S.-Saudi investment forum, which was attended by CEOs and executives from Alphabet (parent company of Google), Amazon, Citigroup, BlackRock, Nvidia, Tesla, Uber, OpenAI, IBM, Palantir and Qualcomm.
In his remarks yesterday, President Trump addressed the esteemed crowd with his vision for a new world order forming in the Middle East:
Before our eyes a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts of tired divisions of the past and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos; where it exports technology, not terrorism; and where people of different nations, religions and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other out of existence..
We don't want that and it's crucial for the wider world to note, this great transformation has not come from Western intervention noise or flying people in beautiful planes giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs. No, the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation builders, neocons or liberal nonprofits like those who spent trillions and trillions of dollars failing to develop, Haval, Baghdad, so many other cities..
And very importantly, after discussing the situation in Syria with the crown prince, your crown prince, and also with President Erdogan of Turkey.. I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness..
Together, we have made unprecedented strides and tremendous progress and we're still just at the dawn of the bright new day that awaits for the people of the Middle East, the great, great people of the Middle East. If the responsible nations of this region seize this moment, put aside your differences and focus on the interests that unite you, then all of humanity, will soon be amazed at what they will see right here in this geographic center of the world..
The tone of this speech is in stark contrast to Obama’s first official remarks at the US State Department following the “Arab Spring” movement:
For six months, we have witnessed an extraordinary change take place in the Middle East and North Africa. Square by square; town by town; country by country; the people have risen up to demand their basic human rights..
That story of self-determination began six months ago in Tunisia. On December 17, a young vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi was devastated when a police officer confiscated his cart. This was not unique. It is the same kind of humiliation that takes place every day in many parts of the world – the relentless tyranny of governments that deny their citizens dignity. Only this time, something different happened. After local officials refused to hear his complaint, this young man who had never been particularly active in politics went to the headquarters of the provincial government, doused himself in fuel, and lit himself on fire..
Sometimes, in the course of history, the actions of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has built up for years..
Trump paid tribute to autocratic leaders for forging a new Middle East whereas Obama cautiously praised the people for demanding dignity.
Though international security will be discussed this week as it relates to Israel and Iran, “big business” was at the top of the agenda. In that regard, Trump secured $600 million in investments from Saudi Arabia with an aim to raise investments to $1 trillion across military, economic and technology sectors.
Qatar, currently host to the largest US military installation in the region and designated in 2022 by President Biden as a Major Non-NATO Ally, signed a major defense and aviation deal today to buy a record breaking 210 Boeing jets.
And on Friday, Trump is set to visit United Arab Emirates, which already announced in March a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment on US artificial intelligence, semiconductors, manufacturing and energy.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to wait for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ankara, Turkey tomorrow to engage in face-to-face peace talks to end the war that began more than 3 years ago. Though President Trump will be in the region, there is no confirmation that he or Putin will attend those talks.
Last night Israel targeted a Hamas leader in a Gazan hospital strike that killed 28 Palestinians and injured more than 50. This attack occurred the day before peace talks were to be held in Doha, Qatar today. Two days ago, the United Nations reported 1 in 5 people in Gaza face starvation.
Of course, Trump continues to shirk ethical concerns in these matters and personal matters as well. Today on Air Force One, Trump told reporters he was not aware of a Emirati-backed firm investing $2 billion in Trump family company’s digital coin, which was reported by Reuters more than a week prior to Trump’s Middle East trip. The president also claims that Saudi-financed and Trump-linked LIV Golf tour was not discussed in Saudi Arabia earlier this week.
The ethical issue however capturing headlines across the political spectrum is Trump wanting to openly defy Constitutional law to accept a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar to replace the “aging” Air Force One he is forced to fly now. Even Republican allies are speaking publicly against such a move:
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota told reporters there are “lots of issues associated with that offer which I think need to be further talked about.”
“I do think the jet probably sends the wrong signal to people, and I don’t like the look or the appearance [of it], so I would hope he rejects it” - Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky
“I also think that the plane poses significant espionage and surveillance problems. So we’ll see how this issue plays out” - Senator Ted Cruz of Texas
Moreover, the “free, very expensive airplane” Trump wishes to receive “would involve installing multiple top-secret systems, cost over $1 billion and take years to complete” according to aviation experts.
However, Trump may very well get his “palace in the sky” as America greets this turning point in world affairs. During Attorney General Pam Bondi’s nomination process, she officially listed two potential conflicts of interest - neither of which was her receiving $115,000 per month as a FARA-registered lobbyist lobbying Congress on behalf of Qatar.
At the time, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote:
I’m disappointed that Pam Bondi failed to list several clear conflicts of interest, which indicates she does not take these conflicts seriously. The American people deserve an Attorney General who avoids even the appearance of impropriety, and they deserve an Attorney General who will put them ahead of any wealthy special interest or foreign government.
Wealthy special interests and foreign governments now receive a presidential visit as a “new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts of tired divisions of the past..”