Former President Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has faced relentless criticism over his government's human rights record, is a “wonderful man.”
In a recent interview with Al Arabiya, President Trump said of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, “I don't think it's a problem at this point.” “Capitals were great when I was president. Wow, Wow.”
“And I have a lot of respect for the King, and a lot of respect for Muhammad, who is doing great. I mean, he's a real visionary. He's like no other. “I did something I never thought possible,” he continued.
In an interview with Al Arabiya's Washington bureau chief Nadia Bilbashi Charters, President Trump then added that the crown prince is “a great person who is respected around the world.”
Earlier this year, the Trump Organization announced that it would build Trump Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The building is the Trump Organization's first development in the country, in partnership with a Saudi-owned developer.
The development could resurface concerns about conflicts of interest if Trump is re-elected in November.
The Saudi government also invested $2 billion in Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The crown prince said last year that Kushner's private equity fund would not be affected by Trump's second term.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia lost a bid to win a seat on the United Nations' top human rights body after a campaign by groups opposed to the country's abysmal record on the issue.
In a recent interview, President Trump said, asked He spoke about his visit to Saudi Arabia in 2017 and the relationship between the two countries as the Middle East war continues and relations in the region are under threat. In response, he criticized President Biden's 2022 trip to the Middle East, during which a fist bump with Prince Mohammed drew widespread criticism.
President Trump has argued that relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia “will never be good with someone like Biden,” and he does not believe that relations will improve if Vice President Harris wins the election.
He reiterated previous claims that if he had been president, Hamas would not have attacked Israel last October and the war that followed would not have occurred.
