Giant Jets, Large and Flattering: Trump's Bay Journey

As the villagers’ national anthem shines throughout the banquet hall, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman strides to the stage, Donald Trump has just delivered a speech full of boasting about his presidency and high-level quotes describing the “incredible” Saudi royal.

Prince Mohamed held the hand of the US president with huge Saudi and American flags behind him, while Trump grabbed the heirs' shoulders. “I like him very much,” Trump said. "I like him so much."

It was a hug, embodying the tenor of Trump's journey to the oil-rich bay, in Saudi Arabia, even the richer Qatar and the United Arab Emirates: a four-day exquisite ceremony, unquestionable flattery, unquestionable flattery, and in particular, the petrodollar false of petrodollar file flatten flatten of the the chishiss soishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishish.

"Have we done a good job with the United States so far?" Trump said as he walked into the conference center. “They only invested a trillion dollars.”

As often happens to Trump, there seems to be a lot of exaggeration, which makes it difficult to distinguish facts from novels. The White House said it had reached a $60 billion deal, including $14.2 billion in arms deals and investments in artificial intelligence and energy.

In fact, the number of city agreements is less than $30 billion, although Prince Mohammed said the plan for the coming months is to increase it to 1TN.

Donald Trump on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: "I like him so much" ©Saudi Publishing House/DPA

After choosing the authoritarian Gulf (rather than the American Western allies), the undisguised economic transactions will be the focus of his visit, as his first foreign tour in his second term knows that he won’t talk about tariffs or trade wars, nor will he challenge his worldview.

Combined, three Gulf countries have managed more than 3tn of $3tn in sovereign wealth funds and are traditional American partners, historically seeking security from Washington, and are big buyers of American weapons.

Everyone has ambitious leaders who want to project their own country on the global stage as they pursue lofty domestic development goals that include pouring billions of dollars into U.S. technology, especially AI, as they try to develop new industries and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

They are frustrated by the volatility of U.S. policy, they have long wanted Washington to have a greater commitment to trade and security, and have been actively courting since Trump’s first term, embracing his trading style even though they are wary of his unpredictability.

However, the trip also raised hacks at home out of the obvious background of Trump’s family self-communication. Prior to the trip this month, the Trump Organization, run by the president's son Eric, opened a hotel in Dubai and reached a real estate deal involving a state-owned company in Katari.

Katari fighter jet escorts Air Force One from Saudi Arabia into Doha ©Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

US/Qatar $1.2TN "Economic Exchange"

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2024 US/Qatar Trade

For weeks, teams from the U.S. and Gulf countries beat details about the deal to ensure the tone of the visit was set by Time Air Force One, accompanied by six Saudi fighters - landed in Riyadh on Tuesday morning.

Prince Mohamed broke Saudi rules, greeted Trump and took him to a lavender carpet surrounded by honorary defenders. This is in stark contrast to President Joe Biden's greeting, which is a stark contrast to the frost welcome.

On Wednesday, Trump was welcomed by another rich man in Doha by the Qatar Emirates Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, which is more fighter escorts and more honorary defenders.

Trump reveled in royal wealth and obvious wealth, marveled at the "perfect" marble of the palace and the camels riding by members of the Royal Guard.

"I'm grateful to those camels," he said. "I haven't seen such a camel in a long time."

Qatar is one of the richest countries per capita in the world and is also delivered in terms of transactions. The White House announced a deal worth more than $243 billion, including Qatar's acquisition of 210 Boeing jets, and Trump brags about the largest jet fleet in U.S. companies' history.

There is also a seemingly ideal route to generate at least $120 million in economic exchanges as the White House continues to increase numbers to support Trump's "America First" investment policy. However, again, it does not give details or timelines on how that number reaches more than 500% of the annual GDP of Gulf countries.

A Katari official said it includes all expected trade between the two countries, such as energy sales, arms trading and other 10 years of investment. This includes the intention of the Qatar Investment Authority to invest $50 billion in the U.S. over the next decade.

The lack of mention of Trump's "gift" in Katari caused controversy during the trip: Doha offered the United States a luxurious giant jet to temporarily replace Air Force One.

Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zaid Nahyan (right) visit Sheikh Zaid Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi ©AP

UAE's $1.4TN investment commitment in context

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But Trump compared Sheikh Tamim to Saudi Prince Mohammed because he was a "tall, handsome guy who happened to be very smart".

The most important diplomatic breakthrough was presented by another "young, attractive" leader: Syrian president and former Islamic rebel leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa met Trump after a surprise announcement that the United States would face sanctions in a country that was damaged by war.

However, the public has little attention to the 19-month war in Gaza. Sheikh Tamim did make a call to Trump to help end the war at a banquet at one of his palaces, calling it "a key to broader stability in the region."

"Time is short. People throughout the region are not watching the words, but to the outcome." "They are waiting for whether this moment brings peace."

But Emir focuses on Trump’s favorite topic, investment in the United States, and the president praised the “perfect night.” After all, he and other guests were sung by American country singer Lee Greenwood (Trump's favorite), who sang "God Bless America."

The UAE ferry arrived on the well-known red carpet when Trump landed in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. There, he was told by President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed al-Nahyan because he knew the UAE had promised to invest $140 million in the U.S. over the next decade in March.

"We will be your friend and we will be your partner," Trump told the UAE leaders. "We will treat you as we should: grand."

Hours later, the White House announced a deal with the UAE worth $200 billion, including Boeing jets, energy projects and technology.

Emile Hokayem of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said that Gulf countries and Trump are similar in many ways: "They are good at the highest, exaggerating, exaggerating, inflated and promising big."

"They still achieved results and it was surprising. A lot of them were for display, but the point was that both sides wanted what they wanted: visibility, good-intentioned communication, mutual verification," Hokayem said. "There are exaggerations everywhere, but even 50% realization is still a huge win for them."