RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — In Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, President Donald Trump touted an “explosion of investment” in America since he has retaken office, as he looks to shore up new economic opportunities for the U.S. on the first multi-stop international trip of his second term.
Trump also made several waves on key foreign policy issues in the region, including on Iran, Syria and his wishes for the Abraham Accords in what marked the first public speech of his four-day Middle East swing.
Addressing the Saudi-U.S. investment forum in Riyadh at the end of a first full day that included an arrival ceremony, a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and a lunch with business executives, Trump sought to pitch the room full of major domestic and foreign investors that there was “no better place” to do business than the U.S."
“There's no better place to make a future, make a fortune or do anything, frankly, than what we have in the United States of America under a certain President Donald J. Trump,” the president said. “I have the right attitude and the same attitude that the people in the front row, second row, third row have.”
Trump said his nearly weeklong trip was set to spur an additional $1 trillion of investments in America, including a $142 billion purchase of U.S.-made military equipment from Saudi Arabia as well as “multibillion-dollar commercial deals.” He specifically mentioned Amazon, Oracle, AMD — all of whom he noted were in the room – as well as Uber, Qualcomm and Johnson & Johnson.
The president also lauded what he called an “exhilarating period” in the Arabian Peninsula, praising both Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the crown prince, the nation’s de facto ruler, for making the country “among the proudest, most prosperous, most successful nations anywhere in the world” in what he called a “modern and rising Middle East.”
“But over the past eight years, Saudi Arabia has proved the critics totally wrong,” Trump said. “The transformation that has occurred even by these incredible business leaders — I mean, you had the biggest leaders in business anywhere in the world standing right before us.”
Trump went on to say it was his “fervent hope and wish and even my dream” that Saudi Arabia would join the Abraham Accords, the deal secured in the president’s first term that saw multiple Arab nations normalize relations with Israel.
The Biden administration said the possibility of such a normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia was in the works before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that set off a 1½-year-old war. But Saudi Arabia has long held that the establishment of a Palestinian state would be needed for such a recognition of Israel. Trump has floated the idea of the U.S. taking over the Gaza Strip and relocating Palestinians to other countries, a concept that has not received an enthusiastic response in the region.
Earlier in the day, the White House confirmed a commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest $600 billion in the U.S., a figure Trump has said he wants to get bumped up to $1 trillion.
While the president’s stops this week will be in three Middle Eastern nations home to economic opportunity, both for the U.S. and the Trump family personally — the Trump Organization has several projects in the region and just last month announced the launch of Trump International Hotel & Tower, Dubai — the region more broadly is dealing with the war in Gaza that has spurred aggressive actions from other Iranian-backed groups as Tehran accelerates its nuclear program.
The president used his remarks to send a clear warning to Iran, telling the country that the “time is right now for them to choose” between a deal with the U.S. — framed by Trump as an offer for a “better path” for its future — or face “massive maximum pressure” from America.
“But with that said, Iran can have a much brighter future, but we’ll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack,” Trump said, reiterating that the country must not obtain a nuclear weapon. “The choice is theirs to make.”
The Trump administration has engaged in a series of talks with Iranian counterparts in recent weeks about the country’s nuclear ambitions.
“This is an offer that will not last forever,” Trump added.
The president also announced he has “taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations” with Syria and will lift sanctions on the country in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime. He noted both the crown prince and Turkey’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urged him to make the move.
A White House official said Trump "agreed to say hello" to Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led the overthrow of the Assad regime last year, while in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Trump’s day in the Saudi Arabian capital started when royal Saudi Air Force F-15s gave Air Force One an escort as it approached the country. Lavender carpets and the crown prince himself greeted the president upon landing before they took part in a lunch that included business executives such as Open AI’s Sam Altman and Tesla owner and Trump adviser Elon Musk.
Trump then participated in an official state dinner Tuesday night. He is set to head to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next.