Trump’s Gulf Moment Moves Beyond the Spectacle
The challenge lies in the details and implementation
This updated version has an “on the ground” section based on the developments that unfolded during the trip.
Less than two weeks after his victory in the presidential election, Donald Trump attended a UFC fight at Madison Square Garden in New York. He was hosted by UFC CEO Dana White, a close personal friend. In the crowd were his core base of supporters – young men. Seated to his left was the billionaire Elon Musk. Yet, the individual seated to his right also caught the eyes of many; chatting away with the president-elect was Yassir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). It was a demonstration of the intimate integration of the Kingdom in Trump’s orbit, and a sign of things to come.
Trump’s Gulf moment comes at the outset of his administration’s next 100 days. When the president made a memorable trip to Saudi Arabia in 2017, the focus was regional. This week’s trip has broader global dynamics at the forefront, from geopolitical deal-making to generating investment deals for the America First agenda. With expectations sky high, there will also be skepticism. Yet the potential is there for Trump’s Gulf trip to catalyze significant gains for the region and beyond.
The details | What Trump wants
Trump’s trip to Riyadh, Doha, and Abu Dhabi has three principal focus areas.
“Peace through strength” — After a period of sabre-rattling on various fronts, the administration sees the Gulf trip as an opportunity to cement peace agreements with the Houthis, on Gaza, and beyond. Although Saudi-Israel normalization appears off the table, other dramatic forays, such as informal engagement with Iranian officials, interactions with the Syrian and Palestinian leadership could occur. It remains to be seen if there will be progress concerning Ukraine to announce, where KSA and the UAE have been active mediators.
Investment — Wildly ranging investment figures have been bandied about ahead of the trip. Over $2 trillion of (re-packaged) announcements could be tallied across the three countries, but the details and timeline will likely remain in the air. While the highlight is the ‘MAGA in the desert’ conference today (May 13) in Riyadh, robust deals have also been put together under the supervision of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed (TBZ) in Abu Dhabi.
Energy — The most significant gap between Gulf and U.S. officials relates to energy prices. President Trump considers lowering oil prices a signature initiative. Current price levels are insufficient to balance regional budgets, but this may be the cost of doing business with the Trump administration.
The details | What the Gulf wants
In many ways, Gulf leaders are getting what they want by being the prize of Trump’s eye and his first formal destination as president. Three overall priorities stand out.
Defense and protection — All three countries seek longer-term defense arrangements with the United States as the overall nature of American power and the rules-based order shift. In addition to security agreements, they are also seeking to obtain new weapons systems, from fighter jets to missile defense shields.
Economic partnerships — Although the Trump administration is focused on outward investment flows to America, the Gulf countries will seek to encourage inward investment and economic partnerships, particularly from large capital holders. There will be a desire to demonstrate the trip as a win-win arrangement for the region, rather than simply extracting gains for the president.
Access to technology — With Saudi Vision 2030 underway and a robust institutionalized focus in Abu Dhabi, the Gulf is playing a key role in relevant new technologies, notably crypto and artificial intelligence. Most of Elon Musk’s companies, and others like OpenAI, have existing deals with the region’s sovereign wealth funds. During the visit, Gulf leaders will seek increased access to proprietary AI and computing technology.
How it may unfold
The three days of Trump’s visit consists of a bonanza of events and spectacles. Footage from the trip is already dominating the media cycle, which will also be driven by headline investment announcements. There will be a concerted effort to announce longer-term peace agreements. In this spirit, even if the Trump administration can’t manage a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, it will settle for a short-term one.
On the ground | What happened?
The President’s trip to the Gulf region unfolded like clockwork. Pageantry and protocol were front and center. In addition, a range of deals were announced, potentially totaling $2 trillion. Yet it was underwhelming on the geopolitical front, with limited movement on intractable challenges. The groundwork, however, could generate more tangible results in the months ahead.
Overall, the trip set a precedent for future foreign missions. Other countries will also note the level of investment and the optics involved.
On the delegation itself, the president was accompanied by a range of administration officials, notably:
Chief of Staff Susie Wiles
Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff
In addition, prominent business leaders joined most aspects of the trip, including:
Alex Karp (Palantir)
Alexander Wang (Scale AI)
Andy Jassy (Amazon)
Arvin Krishna (IBM)
Ben Horowitz (a16z)
Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber)
Elon Musk (SpaceX, Tesla)
James Quincey (Coca-Cola)
Jane Fraser (Citigroup)
Jeff Miller (Halliburton)
Jenny Johnson (Franklin Templeton)
Jensen Huang (NVIDIA)
Jon Ballis (Kirkland & Ellis)
Kathy Warden (Northrop Grumman)
Kelly Ortberg (Boeing)
Larry Fink (BlackRock)
Lisa Su (AMD)
Lorenzo Simonelli (Baker Hughes)
Patrick Soon-Shiong (Los Angeles Times, ImmunityBio)
Ray Dalio (Dalio Family Office)
Ruth Porat (Google)
Sam Altman (OpenAI)
Stephen Schwartzman (Blackstone)
Tim Sweeney (Epic Games)
Travis Kalanick (CloudKitchens)
William Meaney (Iron Mountain)
William Oplinger (Alcoa)
Finally, in addition to the regular press pool, the president was joined by Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Brett Baier, who conducted interviews during the trip.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
As the first stop and with the most high-profile event – the Saudi-US Investment Forum – Saudi Arabia was the highlight and showcased the largest potential business deals, even if all have yet to materialize. The president’s speech at the forum was his clearest articulation of the administration’s foreign policy since coming to office.
Itinerary (May 13-14)
On Tuesday morning, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met President Trump at the airport. They later had a formal bilateral meeting, joined by officials on both sides. During this meeting, a number of agreements were signed, including on defense cooperation, economic partnership, and energy/critical minerals.
He later traveled to the Saudi-US Investment Forum and then joined a state dinner in the evening.
On Wednesday, President Trump participated in the Gulf Cooperation Council leaders' meeting before departing for Qatar.
Business Outcomes
The official readout of the trip provided a figure of a $600 billion investment commitment from the Kingdom. Others have estimated that the figure is just shy of $300 billion. Yet, the most tangible numbers are the $142 billion in defense agreements, $20 billion by Datavolt for data centers, and likely $30 billion for NVIDIA and AMD from the new HUMAIN entity.
Geopolitical highlight
The most notable development of the trip was President Trump’s face-to-face meeting with the Syrian president, Ahmed Sharaa. In public remarks, he also announced that the U.S. would be lifting sanctions on the country.
Notable quote
“It’s crucial for the wider world to note this great transformation has not come from Western interventionists or flying people in beautiful planes giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs.”
- President Trump at the Saudi-US Investment Forum (May 13, 2025)
Qatar
The visit to Qatar provided tangible investment returns, particularly in aerospace, but also prompted momentum on the hostage negotiations amidst the ongoing Gaza crisis.
Itinerary (May 14-15)
On Wednesday evening, Emir Tamim bin Hamad met President Trump at the airport and then at the Amiri Diwan, where a bilateral defense agreement was signed. This was followed by a state dinner.
The next day, the president participated in a business roundtable, during which several business deals between the two countries were discussed.
He later visited Al Udeid Air Base, which is located in the country, to meet with the troops before flying to Abu Dhabi.
Business Outcomes
In Doha, Qatar Airways signed the largest deal of the trip, ordering $96 billion worth of Boeing aircraft. The country also committed to purchasing $42 billion worth of weapons, including a $1 billion purchase of drones from Raytheon. An interesting announcement related to a $1 billion investment for quantum computing in Quantinuum.
Geopolitical highlight
While no significant peace deals were made on Gaza during the visit, just prior, Hamas released Edan Alexander in negotiations largely facilitated by Qatar.
Notable quote
“We're in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace. And if we do that, it will be fantastic.”
- President Donald Trump at the Business Roundtable in Doha, Qatar (May 15, 2025)
United Arab Emirates
The trip’s final stop lasted two days and focused in part on the integrated nature of the AI and energy sectorsin both countries.
Itinerary (May 15-16)
On Thursday afternoon, President Mohamed bin Zayed received President Trump. The first stop in the country was a visit to Sheikh Zayed Mosque, followed by a bilateral meeting similar to those in the other Gulf capitals.
The following day, President Trump participated in a business forum that included presentations on notable investments by sovereign wealth funds in the United States. This was followed by a visit to the Abrahamic House.
Business Outcomes
Prior to the Gulf trip, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the brother of the President, visited Washington, D.C., and made a $1.4 trillion investment commitment over ten years. This trip promoted tangible announcements as part of that, with a stated total of $200 billion. Publicly, the most prominent of these was Etihad's purchase of aircraft worth $14.5 billion and the investment of $4.5 billion by Emirates Global Aluminum into Oklahoma. There was also an announcement that an oil and gas consortium would generate $60 billion in investment.
Geopolitical highlight
The Abraham Accords from the first term have seemingly been overtaken by other geopolitical developments half a decade later. Look for the UAE to play a more significant role in the Syria, Gaza, and Iran files in the coming months as they reassert relevance to US foreign policy priorities.
Notable quote
“We're looking at Gaza. And we're going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving.”
- President Donald Trump at the Business Forum (May 16, 2025)
The way forward
The trip is just the beginning of a deepening set of relationships across Trump’s four years in office between the U.S. and the Gulf. Compared to the first term, there is much more scaffolding for the overall partnership, and the robust movement on geopolitical files in the lead-up means that progress could be announced. That being said, it will only be in the coming months when it will become clear if the commitments made on the trip materialize into tangible outcomes or fade as headlines without substance.