President Trump arrived on Tuesday morning in Saudi Arabia, his first stop on a four -day tour through the Gulf, the first big journey abroad of his second term.
A special section for Vips to Vips at King Khalid international airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, came out of the Air Force One at Royal Terminal. Mr. Trump was welcomed by the hereditary prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the de facto sovereign of the kingdom, on a lavender -colored carpet did not unfold through the asphalt. An honor guard was okay.
Mr. Trump and Prince Mohammed then sat in the seats of the Navy and Gold in an opulent building and illuminated by the sun with marble columns. Trump was accompanied by the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, among others.
The presence of Prince Mohammed meant the special status that Mr. Trump enjoys Saudi Arabia. When President Biden visited in 2022 to say he would say that he would make the kingdom a “paria”, before realizing that he needed his help to reduce oil prices: the hereditary prince wind him, sending a relatively low delegation to greet him to the airport.
It is highly unlikely that Mr. Trump will feel disrespectful on this journey, which will also include stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
In his flight to Saudi Arabia Tuesday, the Air Force One has been escorted for the last half hour by Saudi F-15 combat jets, according to a whites of the White of the White House.
In the Gulf of this week, Trump will focus on the signature of commercial agreements with the three countries, which manage trillions of dollars in activities all over the world. He told consultants who wants to sign agreements for a value of over $ 1 trillion. Offers are expected to include investments in artificial intelligence and energy production companies, as well as purchases of weapons from billions of dollars from the producers of US weapons.
Prince Mohammed should spend a lot of Tuesday with the president, culminating at dinner. The Saudi Royal should dust off their 2017 playbook to woo Mr. Trump. During that journey-his first as President-A more plane image of Mr. Trump's face was projected on the facade of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh.
The president should speak on Tuesday afternoon in an investment forum hosted by the Saudi government. The encryption tsar of the White House, David Sacks and other American corporate leaders – including the managers of IBM, BlackRock, Citigroup, Palantir and Qualcomm, a semiconductor company – should participate.
Prince Mohammed has already committed himself to investing $ 600 billion in the United States in the next four years, a number that according to economists is highly unlikely that they materialize while Saudi Arabia is preparing with a cash crunch. The Emirates promised $ 1.4 trillion of US investments in 10 years.
Trump plans to travel on Wednesday in Qatar and Thursday at the Emirates, where he should receive equally sumptuous hospitality.
His journey into the three Gulf countries was subjected to an intense examination because he takes into account very well with the financial interests of his family. The Trump family has six outstanding agreements with a majority property property company, a cryptocurrency agreement with an affiliate of the government of the United Arab Emirates and a new villa in Golf and luxury villa supported by the Qatar government.
The Trump administration is also ready to accept a luxurious Boeing 747-8 as a donation of the Qatar royal family. Mr. Trump asked that the jet will be updated to serve as Air Force One while waiting for Boeing to provide presidential aircraft for some time.
The Qatar jet could end up being the greatest foreign gift ever received by the United States government. The plan under discussion raises substantial ethical issues, especially because Trump could use the 400 million dollar jet after leaving the assignment. He said he intends to receive him as a donation to his presidential library.
Pressed by journalists on Monday on the agreement, Trump insisted that he would not use the plane after his presidency and suggested that he would be withdrawn as an exhibition in his library.
Maggie Haberman Contributed relationships.