When American presidents visit the Middle East, they usually reach a strategic vision of the region, even if it seems outdated.
Jimmy Carter prompted Egypt and Israel to a historic peace agreement. Bill Clinton tried and failed with Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader. George W. Bush imagined that his war on terrorism will eventually lead to democracy in the region. Barack Obama went to Cairo.To get a new start between the United States and Muslims around the world“
President Trump will tour the Gulf this week in search of one thing above all: commercial deals. Aircraft. Nuclear energy. Artificial intelligence investments. Weapon. Anything puts a signature at the bottom of the page.
While planning the first foreign trip in his second term, a four -day swing across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Trump told his advisers that he wanted to announce deals worth more than one trillion dollars.
As an exercise for the brand, it is completely logical. Mr. Trump, surrounded by the royal family rich in resources and executives of American businesses, who loves to show off his skills in making deals, will be surrounded by his law on bouquets, and many of them. He will visit the palaces, walk on the red carpet and treat like a king in an area Increasingly To the financial interests of the Trump family.
However, as a strategic exercise, the goal of the journey is still blurry. During his 2017 trip to the region, Mr. Trump made waves Mobilization of dozens of leaders from the Muslim majority Countries to confront and condemn extremism. It is unclear what are the goals of foreign policy, if any, which will be developed on this visit.
During the Biden administration, negotiations on the sale of billions of dollars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in civil nuclear equipment – and the ability to enrich its uranium – were linked to a diplomatic goal: persuading Riyadh to recognize Israel, which the Americans depict as an extension of Abraham’s agreements, which Mr. Trump described as greater than that to support support.
Now, the negotiation appears to move forward slowly, as a stand -alone commercial deal.
Mr. Trump’s assistants insist that he still wants to mediate in the normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel. But with the continuation of the war in Gaza, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not an interest in embracing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Israel publicly. Mr. Trump’s current interest in linking himself to Mr. Netanyahu is not much greater than the crown prince. So stopping in Israel did not reach the flight line.
There will be no meeting in Riyadh between Mr. Trump and President Vladimir F. Putin is from Russia, as Mr. Trump was once hoped. The Trump team was noisy about putting his nuclear diplomacy with Iran, and he did not want to disturb the negotiations behind the closed doors in Amman, a country that Mr. Trump does not visit on this trip.
Dennis B. Ross, a peace negotiator in the Middle East for a long time now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy: “Going to the Middle East at the present time relates to the economy, not the strategy.” “He clearly loves these types of trips that have advertisements on big deals, because this is his preoccupation. His focus, priority, is much more than that on the economic and financial side of things.”
Instead of the major strategy, a series of financial transactions will be strengthened by Mr. Trump as production functions for American workers.
The agenda is comfortably in line with Mr. Trump’s expanding plans. His family has six suspended deals with a real estate company owned by Saudi Arabia, which is a coded currency deal with a company affiliated with the United Arab Emirates government and a new golf project and the luxury villa backed by the government of Qatar.
The country will go to Large lengths The court of Mr. Trump. The Trump administration is preparing to accept the Boeing luxury plane 747-8 as a donation from the Qatari royal family that will be promoted to serve as the first air force, which is likely to be the largest foreign gift to the US government.
The plan is under discussion major ethical issues, especially since Mr. Trump can use a plane of $ 400 million after leaving his post, and he received this as a donation to his presidential library. (The White House press secretary said on Sunday that any deal would be compatible with the law, and Qatari officials said it was still under review.)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar run the trillion dollars worldwide, and have become increasingly diplomat And financial forces for their account. But their foreign policies deviate from America in recent years. The three countries formulated close relations with China, Russia and Iran as well as the United States, whose defensive ally is still indispensable and manages military bases in their lands.
For Prince Muhammad, the president’s decision to make the kingdom one of his first main flights abroad – For the second time The verification of the validity of his belief that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an increasing global power, with an attractiveness that powerful leaders cannot ignore.
While Mr. Trump visits these authoritarian countries, he can feel that he will not be subject to the type of protests and hostility that he expects if some American allies visited the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, such as Canada or Germany, as it is not very popular.
The royal families of the Gulf know better than anyone talking about Mr. Trump’s language.
For years, he was shaken by receiving sect in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2017, on his first foreign trip as president. They showed a multi -storey photo of Mr. Trump’s face on the front of the Ritz -Carlton Hotel in his head, where Prince Muhammad later prison Divists. American flags lined up on highways, rural singer Toby Keith performed a full house of Saudi fans and Mr. Trump joined the traditional sword dance. During a visit to a center to confront extremism, the president put his hands on a Glowing Besides King Salman from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and President Abd al -Fahia Sisi from Egypt.
However, Mr. Trump left his position in 2021, believing that the Crown Prince owes him. He came to the defense of Prince Muhammad at a time when Western elites were ignoring him after the killing of the column writer in Washington Post and the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashji.
While Prince Muhammad denied killing in 2018, The CIA has probably agreed to the mission By the Saudi killers, there was a protest from the two parties in Washington.
But Mr. Trump, after announcing that he would follow the evidence and take action against Mr. Khashogji’s killers, stood by Prince Muhammad and began to save him.
“I saved his ass. I managed to make Congress left him alone. I managed to make them stop,” Mr. Trump told journalist Bob Woodward in early 2020.
The Crown Prince has returned in favor of.
No part of the world was more important for the increasing financial well -being of the Trump family from the Middle East, especially since 2021, following the January 6 attack on Capitol, after which Mr. Trump and his relatives were treated as a delegate by most of the American companies community.
In this climate, Jared Kushner, the son -in -law of Mr. Trump and his former White House advisor, began his investment fund. His greatest financier became Prince Muhammad. Six months after the White House, the Crown Prince Kushner left fears of his investment advisers and made sure that the Saudi sovereign wealth fund invested two billion dollars with Mr. Kushner, which made the Saudis the largest investor.
Mr. Trump was his own problems at that time. It was angry when the PgA of America, after the riots in the Capitol, to strip his stadium in New Jersey Golf in the PGA championship. This was much more than a financial blow. He was personally painful for Mr. Trump. The golf is essential for the Trump brand, and there was no greater character to agree to host the PGA championship event in Trump National in Pedmintster, New Jersey
Fortunately, in 2021, the same sovereign wealth fund that invested two billion dollars with Mr. Kushner – the General Investment Fund – began in the separate golf game. The Saudis spent millions of PGA golf players, and the new circle formed a major threat to the PGA tour before the two sides signed a first partnership deal in 2023.
The timing was perfect for Mr. Trump, and he saw an opportunity to return golf courses to the world map. LIV GOLF held championships in Mr. Trump’s four -year sessions, raising the international profile of Mr. Trump’s golf resorts and leading his revenues to his fighters and restaurants.
The family of Mr. Trump also signed deals with a The majority of Saudi Arabia owned Real Estate Company for Project Building in grandmotherin Dubai In Muscat, OmanAmong other sites.
On Tuesday, when Mr. Trump is scheduled to arrive, the Saudi government plans to host an investment forum with CZAR CZAR DAVID SACKS and other American business leaders, including IBM, Blackrock, Citigroup, Palantir, Qualcomm, a semi -conductor company.
Prince Muhammad has pledged to invest $ 600 billion in the United States over the next four years – a number that economists are unlikely to be achieved as the Kingdom is struggling with a cash crisis. Emiratis pledged $ 1.4 trillion in US investment over 10 years.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, is increasingly to hit On his way. The growing ties of the country with both American competitors such as China and expanding economies such as India in preparation for a world may not be dominated by the United States one day.
But Gulf leaders appreciate the nature of transactions for Mr. Trump. They found that the American president does not lecture them on human rights.
Erik Lipton and Maggie Haberman It contributed to the reports from Washington.
