Even those who disagree with President Donald Trump acknowledge that, under his leadership, the United States has been experiencing, from day one, a revolution leading to significant changes, even if he hasn’t fulfilled all his promises literally.
What is important and different this time is that Trump is not just an individual but a broad movement. He enters the White House prepared, armed with his projects, administrative leadership, and a general public sentiment eager for and supportive of his proposals. With this momentum, it is a revolution unlike any previous presidency and even different from his first term.
For our region, we believe we have come to know Trump well, and he will be a positive player according to his announced agenda. He has a desire to achieve Palestinian-Arab-Israeli peace. He wants to resolve the Iranian issue with one of two options: Reconciliation and stopping nuclear activities, or confrontation. He also announced that he wants to address the Syrian issue, including Türkiye's military role there. He will support “Iraqi sovereignty,” which means ending militias aligned with Iran so that he can withdraw the remaining US troops.
In Yemen, he made the Houthis his first target, returning them to the list of terrorist organizations, thus adopting a counter policy. His predecessor, Biden, had threatened to place the Houthi militias on the terrorism list if they did not cease attacks, yet he never did, even when they continued. Trump, on the other hand, told them to stop if they wanted their name removed from the terrorism list.
Because Saudi Arabia maintained a special relationship with him during his previous presidency, he chose to make his first phone call with world leaders to the Saudi Crown Prince and announced his intention to visit Saudi Arabia again.
He said: Saudi Arabia will be the first country he visits abroad, and it will include economic agreements worth $450-500 billion. On this particular point, most non-urgent visits have economic dimensions. When Trump speaks, he addresses his audience in the language of the market – profits and losses. Let us remember that economic dealings with the United States are a gain, while the danger lies in being placed on the list of those banned from trading with it.
Last month, in response to hostile voices against it, the Chinese Foreign Ministry commented that economic dealings between China and the United States benefit both sides. China has investments worth about $700 billion in the United States.
During his first presidency, Trump visited Riyadh after the Crown Prince launched his giant Vision 2030 project. Agreements were made on major projects, but some did not come to fruition, either due to constraints from US lawmakers at the time or other considerations. Ultimately, their scale was less than the announced ambitions. Most of the promised contracts were implemented in long-term installments, sometimes over ten years, with a significant portion being profitable investments.
The relationship between Riyadh and Washington has always been strategic rather than circumstantial. This became clear to former President Biden, who, even without oil, trade deals, or personal ties, proposed strategic cooperation and a defense agreement to Saudi Arabia. With Trump, the relationship is likely to be closer and warmer, especially since the Saudi Crown Prince invested in the relationship with him and found him to be a reliable ally.
There is also the major project for the benefit of the region, which cannot be measured in dollars and will not be overshadowed by investments: the desire to achieve regional peace and the pursuit of a two-state solution by establishing a Palestinian state.
Trump is an exceptional personality with big dreams and tremendous determination. Let us look at what he accomplished on his first day in the White House – nothing like it has been seen before. He will be warmly welcomed, and it is important for us to align with this historic man and gain his support.
