President Donald Trump received the royal welcome in Saudi Arabia, his first major overseas trip of his second term.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud treated Trump to a grand reception that suited the president’s tastes. The ceremony was spectacular, showcasing military strength, escorts on horseback leading the way for Trump’s vehicle, and a luxurious purple carpet. It was a display of regal hospitality with the national anthems of both countries playing in the background.
Trump, donning a purple tie in alignment with the occasion, engaged in friendly conversations with MBS, the affectionate moniker for the Saudi Crown Prince. Formal introductions were conducted between the delegations, followed by a traditional coffee and tea ceremony.
Following the elaborate outdoor welcome, the two leaders moved their discussions to the palace for more formal talks. Notable figures from Trump’s inner circle were in attendance, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Elon Musk.
The mood was jovial with smiles, handshakes and well wishes exchanged.
Both sides have their agenda for this trip: Trump is courting the Saudis for $1 trillion in business investments while Riyadh will offer to invest $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years.
MBS put on the show for the president from the moment Trump crossed into Saudi airspace.
Air Force One was escorted to its landing by Saudi F-15 fighter jets, an honor guard awaited, and the crown prince welcomed Trump himself, leading him to cool refreshment and small talk in elaborate navy-and-gold armchairs.
Saudi Arabia is the first of three stops Trump will make on his four-day tour.
He’ll also visit the lavish wealthy fiefdoms of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
In all three countries Trump will aim, at a minimum, to announce economic deals – with hopes that progress can be made on some complicated geopolitical issues as well.
But, first, Trump will spend Tuesday in various engagements with MBS.
A Saudi official close to the defense ministry said Riyadh will push for securing the latest US F-35 fighter jets along with state-of-the-art air defense systems worth billions of dollars.
‘We will condition that the deliveries take place during Trump’s term,’ the official told AFP.
The long-term goal for the United States is to have Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords – one of the biggest foreign policy achievements of Trump’s first administration.
The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, and Israel and Bahrain.
Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 – and the ongoing war in Gaza – threw a wrench in the Biden administration’s, and now the Trump administration’s, push to have Saudi join the accords.
MBS has pushed that the Saudis would need there to be a pathway to Gaza becoming a Palestinian state for them to join the pact now.
But first, the war in Gaza would need to end.
Some progress was made on Monday when American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander was released by Hamas in a deal etched out between the Palestinian terror group and the U.S.
On Tuesday, Trump will showcase the best in American business.
Tesla founder Elon Musk and several of the biggest names in American businesses attended a Saudi-U.S. investment forum in Riyadh, joining Trump and the Saudi crown prince for a lavish luncheon.
A crowd of the who’s who on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley are there, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altma, Musk’s brother Kimbal, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, Amazon’s Andy Jassy, Google’s Ruth Porat, and Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg.
The showcase of America’s business titans comes as Trump is pushing Saudi Arabia to invest big in America.
The CEOs Blackrock, Citigroup, IBM, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines are also on the guest list.
Washington and Riyadh are heavily invested in one another, primarily driven by oil trade and security cooperation. Many American and Saudi companies have joint ventures.
America needs Saudi oil. And the Saudis buy much of their military might from American defense contractors.
Saudi already has a big investment in the United States, including more than $100 billion of Treasury bonds and $2 billion in an investment fund managed by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
Sovereign or royal funds from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar have committed more than $3.5 billion to Kushner’s fund.
Kushner did not join Trump on the trip.
Trump’s family is also heavily invested in the Middle East. The Trump-owned company is managed by his children, Eric and Don Jr.
Over the past year, Trump-branded residential towers have launched in Dubai and Jeddah. And a developer in April unveiled a Trump luxury golf resort at a state-owned project in Qatar.
Trump will visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates later in the week.
Controversy is also swirling over the president’s plans to accept a luxury Boeing jet from the Qatari royal family.
Trump plans to use it as Air Force One. Boeing is late on its delivery of two 747s meant to serve as the presidential aircraft.
He dismissed criticism of accepting the $400 million luxury jet as a gift.
On Monday, he said it was ‘a very nice gesture’ from the Qataris and added that only a ‘stupid person’ would turn down a ‘free very expensive airplane.’
