During a White House visit, the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman also promised to increase new investments in the US to $1 trillion. Trump meanwhile confirmed the sale of F-35 fighter jets to the Saudis. US President Donald Trump welcomed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, often referred to as MBS, the controversial de facto ruler of oil-rich Saudi Arabia, to the White House on Tuesday. Trump gave the Saudi prince treatment normally reserved for heads of state, welcoming MBS on the South Lawn of the White House amid cannon fire and a military jet fly-over. In comments delivered in the Oval Office shortly after his arrival, the crown prince announced that he would increase what was supposed to be a $600 billion (€518 billion) investment in the US to $1 Trillion. The visit is the prince’s first since the grisly 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents that US intelligence services concluded were very likely operating on the crown prince’s orders.
On Tuesday, the New York Times published an article outlining ethics concerns over Trump’s dealings with MBS, which tangle public and private business interests like the US has rarely seen before.
Trump, who openly flouts the US Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits elected officials from accepting gifts from kings, princes or foreign states, brushed off questions about whether he felt it appropriate that his family conduct business with countries that he is negotiating with as president. The president claimed, "I have nothing to do with my family business," adding that the Trump Organization had comparatively little business in the kingdom. One of the latest deals involves at least four Trump-brand developments in the Maldives in partnership with Saudi developer Dar Global. Investors will be able to participate in the project, which includes a luxury hotel, by purchasing digital tokens. As with many of the president’s business dealings, the tokens, too, have raised red flags, the digital investment model makes it extremely difficult for regulators to track the identities of individuals or entities investing in Trump and his family. In a recent interview on CBS, seated beside trusted family ally, business partner and international fixer Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner defended the family and its real estate and crypto businesses around the world. "What people call conflicts of interest," said Kushner, "Steve and I call experience and trusted relationships." As an example, Dar Global paid $21.9 million in licensing fees to use the Trump name in 2024, meaning that it allows Trump and his family to receive direct payments from foreign actors and governments seeking to leverage influence with the president.
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