If there’s one thing we should all be able to agree on about President Donald Trump, it’s this: he’s highly impressionable. Sure, some conservatives may disagree. But how many stories of Trump being swayed by flattery or gifts do we need to experience before we all come to terms with the fact that our president is easily bought?
Since his first term in the White House, critics have pointed out that Russia could potentially sway Trump to their side. It was a chilling idea. Democrats, for years now, have claimed that Trump is too easy on Russia because of his liking of Vladimir Putin and “tough guys”.
However, now that Trump has entered his second term, another country is arguably influencing U.S. policy—and particularly U.S. foreign policy—more than any other country.
It isn’t Russia. It’s Saudi Arabia.
How Saudi Arabia Is Influencing Trump
Trump has managed to create close ties with the royal family in Saudi Arabia since his first term. Who could forget that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, received a $2 billion investment from a Saudi crown prince-led fund a mere six months after he left the White House in 2021?
Now, Saudi Arabia is easily influencing Trump and American foreign policy. Recently, Trump shocked much of the world when he revealed that the U.S. was lifting sanctions on Syria. Syria, which had seen the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad last year after 13 years of civil war, is now being led by a former al-Qaeda commander, President Ahmed Sharaa.
Despite the fact that the U.S. had a $10 million bounty on Sharaa’s head just a few months ago, Trump was clearly impressed with the “attractive” and “strong” man. Of course, even Trump himself admitted why he had lifted all sanctions on Syria. According to the president, all of this was because of Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, who encouraged this move.
Trump’s Growing Friendship with the Middle East
While Saudi Arabia has grown close to the Trump administration, they aren’t the only Middle Eastern country to recognize how impressionable Trump is. There’s Qatar, which has gifted Trump a luxury $400 million Boeing jet, a move that has caused even Republicans to worry.
The UAE has also been influential in Trump’s recent trip to the Middle East, encouraging the president to accept Sharaa and Syria by lifting all those sanctions. Then, there’s also Syria itself, which has also moved quickly under Sharaa to flatter the U.S. president.
How did Syria pull off this amazing feat to be accepted by Trump? Sharaa reportedly suggested that Trump could build a Trump Tower in Damascus. Turns out, it really was just that simple.
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