Trump’s voyage to Gulf States to strengthen U.S. economic, diplomatic ties

This week, President Donald Trump will visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates in a trip aimed at fortifying ties and broadening economic cooperation and investments in the region. Building on relationships forged during his first term through the historic Abraham Accords, the trip will focus mostly on economic deals between the U.S. and its Middle East partners, with diplomatic relations as a secondary goal.

Billed by regional news publications as "high stakes," the Gulf States summit will begin on May 13 in Riyadh, followed by meetings in Doha with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim al-Thani. On May 15, Trump will travel to Abu Dhabi and meet the UAE's President Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ).

Possible gift of a new Air Force One to the United States

Prior to the trip on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked if this trip could lead to Trump personally profiting from business deals made on the trip. "I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit. He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service, not just once but twice," she responded. 

Referencing repeatedly substantiated reporting that former President Joe Biden and his family monetized the Biden family name, she told the reporter, "I don’t remember these types of questions being asked of my predecessor about a career politician who was clearly profiting off of this office. That is not what President Trump does, and this White House holds ourselves to the highest of ethical standards."

Nonetheless, the Associated Press and ABC News published stories on Sunday that called into question the propriety -- or legality -- of a planned gift from the ruling family of Qatar, specifically, a luxury-configured Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet.  The plane would be transferred to the United States Air Force -- not to Trump -- and the USAF would modify the 13-year-old aircraft to meet the required specifications for presidential aircraft. 

ABC cited unnamed sources saying that a government legal analysis concluded that it is legal for the Department of Defense to accept the aircraft as a gift and later turn it over to the Trump library, and The New York Times noted that the two current Air Force Ones are more than 30 years old and need frequent servicing, sometimes taking months. 

Calling the gift-giving entirely into question, Ali Al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Qatari government, said that reports of the plane being offered “during the upcoming visit of President Trump are inaccurate.”

Saudi policies a high hurdle to jump

The talks with Saudi leaders will cross delicate terrain as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's de facto leader, has stated his nation won’t normalize relations with Israel until Palestinian statehood has been established and a cessation of the war in Gaza is achieved. Those two requirements are not likely to occur anytime soon. 

According to The Times of Israel, several Arab newspapers reported that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will attend Trump’s meeting with bin Salman this Tuesday. The outlet also said that, according to a UK-based Arabic newspaper, the initiative came from the Saudi crown prince and was accepted by the President. 

Bin Salman was widely accused of ordering the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and Washington Post journalist. The Biden administration determined in 2022 that bin Salman should be granted immunity in a case brought against him by Khashoggi's wife, and the case was dismissed that year.

Trump will be joined by a large delegation to provide support during the pivotal talks, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who will reportedly fly to the region separately from Trump, to participate in meetings. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is also expected to join the delegation. A large portion of senior staff at the White House, including Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and a slate of deputy chiefs, will also be accompanying the president to the Middle East.

Destination: Deal-making

Business deals involving industries such as oil, plastics, and organic chemicals will be the centerpiece of the trip. Deputy White House Press Secretary Kush Desai told the Just The News, No Noise television show, "I think presidents go over to visit our key allies in the Middle East, and expanding economic ties is definitely a very big part of that. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, these are some of our major economic and political allies in the region." 

Highlighting progress that could be made on previous developments, Desaid said, "I think we'll see an expansion of investments. The Saudis have already committed to investing hundreds of billions of dollars under this President. I think the Emirates have as well. So I think we're going to see a deepening of ties, not just in the economic sense, but also in the political and foreign policy sense, as we try to bring back the historic peace that the Middle East saw under President Trump's first term."

Trump is not planning to visit Israel on this trip.