Deals, disco and a baby blue carpet: Key moments from Trump's Mideast jaunt

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2 days ago

LONDON − A lot of people are saying − President Donald Trump among them − there's never been a White House trip to the Middle East quite like it.
"I shook more hands, more than any human being is capable of doing," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he compared his visit to Saudi Arabia with one in 2022 by former President Joe Biden, who gave the kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a fist bump amid strained ties over human rights.
"That's not what they want," Trump said. "They don't want a fist bump. They want to shake his hand."
Trump wrapped up a four-day excursion to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on May 16. It was heavy on pageantry, commerce and camel-appreciation. He signed multi-billion dollar deals. Toured Riyadh's gilded palaces. Expressed a luxury hotel builder's admiration for marble floors and columns in Doha. In Abu Dhabi, Trump was dazzled by the white minarets and domes of the "incredible" Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Throughout, Trump was treated to opulent state dinners and feted like only three of the world's wealthiest monarchies likely can. There were escorts from fighter jets and flag-bearing Arabian horsemen. The disco hit "YMCA," a song familiar from Trump's rallies, and to some a LGBTQ+ anthem, was blasted at least twice.
There was also time for serious policy asides − on Syria, Russia's Ukraine war, Gaza and Iran.
Here are some of the key moments and takeaways from the trip.
The White House made no secret of its main goal for Trump's visit: to sign trade and economic deals that benefit Americans. In Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reiterated a pledge to invest $600 billion in U.S.-Saudi partnerships encompassing artificial intelligence data centers, infrastructure projects, healthcare technologies, science collaborations, and various defense and security ties and initiatives.
In Qatar, Trump announced an economic exchange worth $1.2 trillion. One headline-grabbing agreement: Qatar Airways said it would buy up to 210 Boeing jets for $96 billion. The White House said the deal would support 154,000 jobs in the U.S. each year of their production, totaling 1 million jobs over the deal's lifecycle, and that the deal represented the largest-ever order of 787 Dreamliners, a wide-body, long-range aircraft.
Qatari 747: How Air Force One stacks up to Trump's coveted 'palace in the sky'
The UAE's leaders want American help to make the nation a global leader in AI. The UAE and U.S. signed a framework deal to allow the UAE to import each year hundreds of thousands of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips. The UAE will also invest billions in the U.S. energy and manufacturing sectors.
"Somebody's going to be taking the credit for this," Trump said in Abu Dhabi.
"You remember," he added, addressing reporters, "this guy did it."
The three Gulf nations − all rich petrostates − did their best to charm and impress a man who admitted in his book "The Art of the Deal" to be smitten by royalty and all the glitz and glamor that surrounds it.
In Riyadh, Trump was greeted at the airport not just by the crown prince and an honor guard lined up with golden swords, but a lavender carpet − a color that celebrates Saudi identity and is reserved for the most high-profile dignitaries. A cavalry of Arabian horses accompanied his presidential limousine − nicknamed the Beast − everywhere it went.
More: Trump denies talking golf, real estate in Saudi meetings
"As a construction person, this is perfect marble," Trump said to Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani as he gestured to the walls and columns of Amiri Diwan, Qatar's presidential office.
"This is what they call perfecto. We appreciate those camels," Trump added. His motorcade in Doha was trailed by a parade of red cybertrucks and camels. "I haven't seen camels like that in a long time," he said.
Trump was welcomed at Qasr Al Watan, the presidential palace in Abu Dhabi, by dozens of children waving U.S. flags and line of women in white gowns who stood along a walkway, rhythmically flipping their long hair from side to side in a traditional dance known as "Al-Ayyala," while men behind them beat drums and chanted.
Al-Ayyala is intended to simulate a battle scene, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO. "I love it!" Trump said after observing the performance. He then toured one of the world's largest mosques, removing his shoes to take heed of Islamic customs.
"Isn't this beautiful? It is so beautiful," Trump said, as he marveled at the arches, white pillars and intricate flower inlays at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. "Very proud of my friends. This is an incredible culture."
Trump met in Riyadh with a man who only months ago had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. Ahmed al-Sharaa has transformed himself from an al Qaeda militant to Syria's president.
Sharaa joined al Qaeda in Iraq around the time of 2003 U.S.-led invasion. He spent years in a U.S. prison in Iraq before returning to Syria to join the insurgency against now deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia with his family, and according to reports, much of his vast wealth in December 2024.
Syria's leader: How he rose from al-Qaeda to a meeting with President Trump
"I think he has got the potential," Trump remarked after his meeting with Sharaa. It came after Trump announced the U.S. was lifting sanctions on Syria that have hurt its economy.
Trump said in Qatar the U.S. was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and that Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms. A senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to confirm progress is being made in an interview with NBC News. The U.S. wants Iran to halt its uranium enrichment.
Washington suspects Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear activities are for civilian energy purposes only. The U.S. and Iran have been holding talks over Tehran's nuclear program for weeks, with Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, calling the last round in Muscat, the capital of Oman, "encouraging."
A deal with Iran? Trump says he's close to one
As Trump capped the first foreign tour of his second term, he also made brief comments on Gaza, acknowledging reports from Gazans, the UN and rights groups that "a lot of people are starving."
A two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in March, shortly after Israel reimposed a total blockade on Gaza that aid agencies say has sparked critical food shortages. Trump also addressed Gaza when he was in Qatar, saying he wants to make the Palestinian territory into a "freedom zone," a variation on his "Riviera of the Middle East" proposal for the seaside enclave where tens of thousands have been killed.
'Riviera of the Middle East' no more? Trump has new plan for war-torn Gaza
And over the course of the four-day trip, it also emerged Trump could add Turkey to his itinerary to take part in peace teaks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. But when Putin didn't show, Zelenskyy bailed and then so did Trump, though a lower-level delegation of Russian and Ukrainian negotiators did show up in Istanbul on May 16 for what was billed as their first direct peace talks in more than three years. As did Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"Look, nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together," Trump said.
It was also, at times, a music-filled trip.
Trump was welcomed on stage at an investment conference in Riyadh, and the next day at a U.S. military base in Qatar, while Nashville singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" was played.
The patriotic country song is a staple at Trump's political rallies.
A familiar tune: Trump ends Saudi Arabia and Qatar visit with 'YMCA'
Trump walked off the stage in Riyadh, and one at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, to The Village People's 1978 hit "YMCA." The crown prince stood next to Trump on the stage in Saudi Arabia, a country that has outlawed homosexuality and alternative forms of gender expression, sometimes punishable by death.
"That was a great four days, historic four days," Trump told reporters on the flight home. "The jobs and money coming into our countries − there has never been anything like it."
Sanam Vakil, a Middle East analyst at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said ahead of Trump's regional jaunt that "human rights will not be part of Trump's agenda."
They weren't.
Trump's Gulf tour: personal diplomacy and family business intersect
On Air Force, Trump warmed to his theme.
"Everyone's talking about it," he said. "The respect shown to our country was incredible."
Trump then said it was time to get back to Washington, not least because he wanted to go see his new grandson. As grandpa was inking billion-dollar deals in faraway gleaming cities built in deserts, his daughter Tiffany gave birth to a baby boy, her first child, the president's 11th grandchild.
At the airport in Abu Dhabi, Trump's Emirati hosts rolled out a baby blue carpet for his exit.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Key moments from Trump's Mideast jaunt: Deals, disco and a blue carpet