WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday in his first phone call with a foreign leader in his second term, in what appears to be… Renewing the efforts I made four years ago to strengthen American relations with the Kingdom.
A White House statement issued on Thursday said, “The two leaders discussed efforts to achieve stability in the Middle East, enhance regional security, and combat terrorism.”
Trump and the Crown Prince “also discussed Saudi Arabia’s international economic ambitions over the next four years as well as trade and other opportunities to increase mutual prosperity between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” the statement said.
The Saudi government’s statement on the call said that the Kingdom intends to “expand its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, by $600 billion, and perhaps more than that.”
Speaking virtually at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, Trump called the crown prince a “terrific guy” and said he would ask Saudi Arabia to increase that investment in the United States to $1 trillion. Trump also said he would ask Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to lower oil prices.
“You have to take him down, and I’m honestly surprised they didn’t do it before the election,” he said. “It didn’t show a lot of love by them not doing that. I was a little surprised by that.”
During his first term as president, Trump’s first trip abroad was to Saudi Arabia. During those four years, the United States maintained a close relationship with the Middle Eastern country Despite the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Throughout those four years, Trump has prioritized Saudi Arabia in his foreign policy missionvetoed congressional efforts to halt arms sales to the country and end US military aid to Saudi Arabia in its war in Yemen.
Trump also defended the Saudi government even after the CIA concluded that bin Salman himself ordered the killing of Khashoggi, who was a vocal critic of his government.
“Our intelligence agencies continue to evaluate all information, but it is very possible that the Crown Prince knew about this tragic event — he may have had knowledge and he may not have known,” Trump said at the time. We may never know all the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. Anyway, our relationship is with Saudi Arabia.
As he signed executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump told reporters that Saudi Arabia was his first foreign trip of his first term because he said they had agreed to buy $450 billion worth of American products.
When asked where he planned to go now, Trump said that if Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450 billion or $500 billion — or more because of inflation, he said — “I think I would probably go there,” he said.
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt told NBC News Thursday morning that she was not aware of any current planning for Trump to visit Saudi Arabia.
Catherine Doyle and Tara Prendiville Contribute.
