Trump speaks in Saudi Arabia after arriving for first leg of three-country Middle East visit

by · UPI

May 13 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump spoke during a U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum Tuesday after having touched down in Saudi Arabia aboard Air Force One on the first stop of four-day visit to the region, the first major overseas trip of his second term, with a focus on securing investment in the U.S. economy worth as much as $1 trillion.

Trump went before the crowd at the event, broadcast by the White House and held in Riyadh as he thanked Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, who was among the attendees, as were many members of Trump's Cabinet. He went on to praise the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and then moved in mentions of his administration's accomplishments since Trump retook office in January, which includes efforts in border patrol, military enlistment and the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.

Trump then went on to allege that food prices are down and there's "no inflation," that nearly 500,00 new jobs have been created in "weeks" and touted the trade agreement recently made with Britian and the tariff agreement made over the weekend with China, among several other purported accomplishments he stressed were superior to what occurred before his presidency.

Trump's speech then moved into the 2024 election, with a going-over of his electoral college win and investments companies have made in the United States since his second term began, and investments he further expects.

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Trump then pivoted to what he termed was an "exhilarating period, right here in the Arabian Peninsula," and spoke of a "transformation" of Saudi Arabia that included an increase in "towers" and "exhibits," World Cup soccer and Formula One racing, and that for the first time, a majority of the Saudi economy was not oil.

"Before our eyes a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos, where it exports technology not terrorism, and where people of different nations, religions and creeds are building cities together," Trump said.

Trump spoke of his take on how the Biden administration fared in the Middle East before his return, which included several purported slams and an allegation that it funded the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

He compared Saudi Arabia's direction to what he says is happening in Iran, a description that included failing infrastructure and a corrupt government, and then mentioned his administration's involvement in peace talks between countries currently in conflict. He also declared that neither Russia's War on Ukraine or the Oct. 7 Hamas attack would have occurred if he was President as the time.

Trump concluded the speech with a comparison between the current level of perceived economic expansion and growth in Saudi Arabia to the rest of the Middle East, to what he said has been launched in the United States, a "Golden Age of America," said to be born of the influx of "trillions and trillions" of dollars and "hundreds of thousands" of jobs. He closed with statement that with the "help of the people of the Middle East and the people in this room," that the "Golden Age of the Middle East can proceed right along side of us."

The White House also released a statement Tuesday that President Trump has secured a $600 billion investment commitment in Saudi Arabia that includes a $20 billion investment from the Saudi data center company DataVolt, and that companies such as Google, Uber and Oracle among others have made a commitment to invest $80 billion in "cutting-edge transformative technologies in both countries."

The financial pledge also is to include infrastructure deals with a group of American companies, who will take on projects like King Salman International Airport and King Salman Park among others, which is to total more than $2 billion in U.S. services exports. There's also to be an investment from the Shamekh IV Solutions intravenous solutions company to build a plant in Michigan, and exports from American companies focused on energy and aircraft that would total $19 billion.

On Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to attend a summit of Gulf leaders before heading to Qatar and finally to the United Arab Emirates on Friday.

All three countries have deep pockets and state-run sovereign wealth funds with assets totaling more than $2.5 trillion that Trump could tap for his alternative plans for U.S. economic growth going forward.

Crucially, no visit to Israel is included in his itinerary, although Trump has said he might detour to Turkey for Russia-Ukraine peace talks due to get underway there on Thursday if he felt his presence would be helpful.

Trump said last week that an "earth shattering" announcement not related to trade trade was imminent.

One possibility is a proposal to rename the Persian Gulf "the Arabian Gulf" as an offering to the leaders of Arab capitals he is meeting on his visit.

However, Sanam Vakil, director of Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa Program, told the BBC that Trump may be floating the idea to test the water in advance, given the consternation such a move would cause in Iran, which the gulf is named after.

Another possibility is renewed momentum toward a regional security alliance.

However, Vakil said normalization of ties between the Arab countries and Israel was firmly off the table and would remain so as long as the war in Gaza continued.

Meanwhile, an escalating row over plans for Trump to receive a gift of a $400 million luxury Boeing 747 from the Qatar royal family for use as Air Force One -- which he has stressed would be owned by the United States and not him personally -- threatened to overshadow the trip.

The proposal was catching bipartisan flak, including from some of Trump's highest-profile MAGA backers, such as social media star Laura Loomer, who said it would be "a stain" on his administration if true.

"As someone who would take a bullet for Trump. I'm so disappointed," she said.

The White House said Monday it would be a government-to-government transaction, fully compliant with all U.S. laws, and dismissed questions over what Qatar might want from the United States in return.

Trump has said the arrangement would be temporary while waiting for the delivery of two replacement aircraft on order from Boeing, however, it remains unclear if reports the aircraft would be passed onto his presidential library at the end of his term in January 2029 were accurate.

However, security experts and government officials warned it posed major security risks.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said using the aircraft would "pose immense counterintelligence risks by granting a foreign nation potential access to sensitive systems and communications."

"This reckless disregard for national security and diplomatic propriety signals a dangerous willingness to barter American interests for personal gain. It is an affront to the office of the presidency and a betrayal of the trust placed in any U.S. leader to safeguard the nation's sovereignty," said Reed.