Here's What To Know About Trump's Middle East Visit
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on May 12, 2025. ... More (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The specific goals of the visit are somewhat unclear, though it's expected to center around new economic investments, rather than broader geopolitical strategy.
Conflict-of-interest concerns have swirled ahead of the visit, particularly surrounding Trump's family business ventures in the region and, more recently, the expected announcement that Qatar will gift the Trump administration a new 747 mega-jet.
Trump will land in Saudi Arabia at 9:45 a.m. local time Tuesday. He will participate in a state visit, an investment forum hosted by the Saudi government and a state dinner. Elon Musk is expected to attend the investment forum, along with executives from Palantir, Blackrock, Citigroup, IBM, Boeing, Delta, American Airlines and United Airlines, Reuters reported, citing a planning note it obtained. Later Wednesday, Trump will travel to Qatar, where he'll meet with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. He will conclude the trip Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, where he will meet with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan before returning to the U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, CNN reported, citing unnamed senior White House officials.
Multiple Trump-branded properties and crypto deals are among those in the Trump family's Middle East business portfolio. Among the real estate ventures in the works are a Trump golf resort in Qatar and Trump residential towers in Dubai and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. An investment fund backed by the United Arab Emirates, MGX, also used $2 billion in stablecoin issued by the Trump family's World Liberty Financial to invest in Binance earlier this year. The deal contributed to the failure last week of a crypto industry-friendly bill that would have regulated stablecoins, as senators on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about Trump's links to the MGX-Binance deal and his personal stake in the stablecoin legislation. The White House has dismissed concerns about any potential conflicts of interest between Trump's official government duties and his personal business in the Middle East. 'I think it's frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday.
Trump is seeking a $1 trillion investment in the U.S. from Saudi Arabia. He told reporters in March he agreed to the trip because Saudi Arabia agreed to the investment, though Riyadh has yet to confirm the figure, and experts told The New York Times the amount is unrealistic given the size of Saudi Arabia's economy. Qatar is expected to gift the Trump administration a $400 million 747-8 jumbo jet to use in place of Air Force One—what could be the largest foreign gift to the federal government in history, raising concerns it could set the stage for a quid pro quo situation. The White House has vehemently rejected any pay-for-play suggestions. Trump said Monday the plane would be gifted to the Defense Department, not him personally. He also said he wouldn't use the plane after leaving office even though it would be donated to his presidential library after its tenure as Air Force One.
Saudi Arabia proposed in January an additional $600 billion investment in the U.S. over the next four years, with the potential to increase the amount, though it's unclear exactly where the money would go. The United Arab Emirates announced in March a new $1.4 trillion investment over the next decade in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, manufacturing and energy. The U.S. and Qatar last year reached an agreement to extend U.S. military presence at the Al Udeid Air Base for another 10 years.
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