The New Age of US-Saudi Relations: A Tale of Corruption
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) was welcomed with open arms to the White House last week, as he met with President Trump to discuss everything from US investment to nuclear energy. Trump and his team pulled out all the stops: red carpet, fighter jet flyover, military band, and a lavish dinner in the White House East Room attended by technology CEOs such as Tim Cook, Elon Musk, and Jensen Huang, among others. The embrace of MBS isn’t just another example of Trump’s transactional foreign policy. Against the backdrop of great power competition, corruption is hiding in plain sight.
There was certainly no shortage of moral compromises. Of course, Saudi Arabia’s horrendous human rights record was largely ignored or dismissed. The country is notorious for crackdowns on civil liberties, unfair trials and executions, forced labor, targeted surveillance, and discrimination against women. But even more blatant was Trump’s response to being pressed on the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which was previously determined by US intelligence agencies to have been ordered by the crown prince himself. Trump referred to Khashoggi as “extremely controversial,” dishonestly insisting that MBS “knew nothing about it.”
If nothing else, it’s clear that the US has taken a sharp turn from its position 3 years ago, when the Biden administration was reconsidering the entire US-Saudi relationship due to what it perceived as unacceptable differences in values and interests.
The Trump administration also seems to be using a similar playbook that it uses for AI competition with China. The logic goes that if the US sells its top-end AI chips to China, such as those made by Nvidia and AMD, the Chinese will get hooked on American technology and thus become disincentivized to develop their own, leaving them reliant on the US. For Saudi Arabia, Trump announced that he would approve the sale of the F-35 fighter jet. Deepening defense ties with the Saudis is likely seen by the administration as a reliable hedge to China and Iran further asserting their own influence.
On the positive side, this approval might be representative of a loosening iron grip by Benjamin Netanyahu over American Middle East policy. Giving F-35s to Saudi Arabia challenges Israel’s regional military supremacy. Israeli officials have stated they would accept the sale if Saudi Arabia joined the Abraham Accords, but this is unlikely to happen. The Saudis have clearly stated they would only join the agreement to normalize relations with Israel if presented with a viable path to a two-state solution, which Israel firmly opposes.
Unfortunately, however, Saudi-China cooperation is already strong enough to create a potential pathway for technology transfer. Pulling Saudi Arabia towards the west in the context of competition with China won’t matter if they simply turn around and hand over the technology to China, which is exactly the situation that the US seeks to avoid. To get the deal done, these strategic concerns have been overlooked.
The justification for the strategic compromise isn’t easy to miss—just follow the money. MBS pledged upwards of $1 trillion of Saudi investment in the US, and the Trump family maintains active business relationships in Saudi Arabia. For example, MBS himself oversees a massive construction project that is in talks to include a Trump-branded property, according to the chief executive of a Saudi firm. In exchange, Trump delivered on the crown prince’s requests in terms of defense, economics, and regional security. It’s purely transactional, barely disguised quid pro quo.
Needless to say, money talks. But foreign policy should be dictated by American interests, not the Trump family’s interests. The administration’s pattern of tolerance (and even reverence) for autocracy and brutality has been clearly defined. American technology and defense industries will benefit handsomely from Saudi investment, but the Trump family's own financial ties to the kingdom reveal even deeper motivation. It’s the latest example of Trump’s transactional approach to foreign policy, but when it’s the family business that stands to benefit, it’s blatantly corrupt, too.