Trump's Middle East visit comes as his family deepens its business, crypto ties in the region

WILL WEISSERT

Tue, May 13, 2025, 7:00 PM 7 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s not conscionable the “gesture” of a $400 cardinal luxury level that President Donald Trump says he’s smart to judge from Qatar. Or that helium efficaciously auctioned disconnected the archetypal destination connected his archetypal large overseas trip, heading to Saudi Arabia due to the fact that the kingdom was acceptable to marque large investments successful U.S. companies.

It’s not adjacent that the Trump household has fast-growing concern ties successful the Middle East, ones that tally heavy and connection the imaginable of immense profits.

Instead, it’s the thought that the operation of these things and much — deals that amusement the adjacent ties betwixt a household whose patriarch oversees the U.S. authorities and a portion whose leaders are fond of currying favour done wealth and lavish gifts — could origin the United States to amusement preferential attraction to Middle Eastern leaders erstwhile it comes to American affairs of state.

Before Trump began this week's sojourn to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, his sons Eric and Donald Jr. had already traveled the Middle East extensively successful caller weeks. They were drumming up concern for The Trump Organization, which they are moving successful their father's stead portion he's successful the White House.

Their travels included Eric Trump announcing plans for a glitzy, 80-story Trump Tower successful Dubai, the UAE’s largest city. He besides attended a caller cryptocurrency league determination with Zach Witkoff, a laminitis of the Trump household crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, and lad of Trump's do-everything envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

“We are arrogant to grow our beingness successful the region,” Eric Trump said past period in announcing that Trump Tower Dubai was acceptable to commencement operation this fall.

The statesmanlike sojourn to the portion arsenic his children enactment the aforesaid portion of the satellite for the family's money-making opportunities puts a spotlight connected Trump's willingness to clasp foreign dealmaking arsenic president — adjacent successful the look of mounting concerns that doing truthful could tempt him to signifier U.S. overseas argumentation successful ways that payment his family's bottommost line.

Nowhere is the imaginable overlap much prevalent than successful the Middle East

The Trump family's concern interests successful the portion see a new woody to build a luxury play edifice successful Qatar, partnering with Qatari Diar, a existent property institution backed by that country's sovereign wealthiness fund. The household is besides leasing its brand to 2 caller existent property projects successful Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, successful concern with Dar Global, a London-based luxury existent property developer and subsidiary of backstage Saudi existent property steadfast Al Arkan.