Latest news with #POLITICOSecuritySummit
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Commerce not chaos:' Trump remakes the foreign trip
The first multi-day foreign trip of President Donald Trump's second term bucked the norms of presidential travel, demonstrating just how swiftly and drastically his transactional approach to foreign policy has reshaped the way other countries interact with the United States. Trump's whirlwind journey this week through three wealthy Arab Gulf states appeared more like a governor's economic development mission — with corporate leaders and investment pledges — than a typical presidential trip. Usually, those highly choreographed missions are geared toward affirming alliances, engaging in tough diplomatic negotiations and advancing American foreign policy priorities. Trump did all of that, but his chosen allies and priorities were strikingly different. 'This was a trip not on alliances, this was a trip on doing business and doing transactions,' said Dennis Ross, a career diplomat and top Middle East adviser in the George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations. 'In the modern era of American foreign policy, we haven't seen American presidents for whom that's been the unmistakable priority.' The royal families of Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi rolled out the lavender carpet for the president, escorting Air Force One over the Arabian dunes with sleek fighter jets and hosting him — and his entourage of American titans of industry — in their ornate, marbled presidential palaces. The White House said Trump secured more than $2 trillion in investment agreements in the region, including nearly $150 billion between Saudi Arabia and American defense contractors, an order by the Qatari government for 160 Boeing planes and a $60 billion partnership between American energy companies and Abu Dhabi's state-run oil firm. 'The economy and national security are inextricably intertwined, and the bumper sticker for what the president is doing now is very clear,' Sebastian Gorka, a top White House counterterrorism official, said Thursday at the POLITICO Security Summit. Offering a brash new brand of American mercantilism, Trump was explicit about seeking cooperation based 'on commerce, not chaos,' emphatically breaking from a decades-long foreign policy orientation in favor of cooperation with traditional allies based, at least rhetorically, on shared values. He mocked his predecessors — without naming them — as sanctimonious, and promised that he would not deliver any lectures about democracy or 'look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins.' Instead, he lavished his counterparts with compliments, describing the Qatari ruling family as 'tall, handsome guys' and Syria's new leader — whom the U.S. once labeled a terrorist — as 'attractive' and 'tough.' In particular, Trump expressed his admiration for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 'I like him a lot, I like him too much,' the president said during a speech in Riyadh as the crown prince beamed from the front row. Trump presented his decision to lift sanctions on Syria as something of a favor to his host, remarking after announcing the decision, 'Oh, what I do for the crown prince.' The flattery was all the more remarkable just seven years after the assassination of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence officials concluded came at the direction of Bin Salman. When former President Joe Biden was running in 2020, he promised to treat Saudi Arabia as a 'pariah' for its human rights violations — though he later met with the crown prince and offered him an infamous fist bump. Trump 'was saying 'However you treat your own people is your business. It's not our business. Our business is doing business,'' Ross said. Trump flew to Doha the next day for a state visit with the Qatari royal family, from whom he has agreed to accept a $400 million jet to be gifted to the Defense Department for use as Air Force One, then donated to Trump's presidential library at the end of his term. One White House ally who took part in the trip, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, pointed to the large group of American business magnates who tagged along, some attending the investment conference organized by Saudi Arabia and then traveling on and taking part in additional ceremonial events in Qatar and UAE. 'They know where the new economic powerhouse is,' the person said, pointing to the developing synergy between the U.S. government and these Arab nations with sovereign wealth funds that have hundreds of billions of dollars invested worldwide. 'It's a seismic shift of the Gulf region becoming the go-to for Trump on economic and security issues.' The White House acknowledges that Trump's focus on the trip 'is on investments into America,' as one senior official, granted anonymity to speak candidly, put it. But for the Art of the Deal author, the people around him argue, trade and policy go hand in hand. Gorka asserted at the POLITICO summit that the U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal would help end its war with Russia, and that Trump's first-term Middle East policy had set the stage for the 'prosperity' of the deals he was announcing in his second. While touting the region's economic potential as he racked up investment commitments, Trump also plowed ahead with several audacious foreign policy moves, unilaterally shifting America's posture in the region. Not only did Trump announce he was lifting sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi and Turkish leaders, he met personally with its new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa — a former jihadist who, until recently, had a $10 million bounty on his head. And he offered what he called an 'olive branch' to Iran, urging the country's leaders to agree to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, suggesting that such a deal could be finalized in short order. Republicans widely celebrated the moves — and even some Democrats admitted that Trump's norm-defying foreign policy approach, while jarring, is proving effective. 'I'm not in the habit of praising Donald Trump, but I've got to tell you, in the last week or so in the Middle East, Ukraine, Russia, it's a different story,' Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said during the POLITICO Security Summit . 'I've got to tell you, I think the president has, in this last week or so, played the Middle East pretty darn well,' Himes added. Others were more skeptical. 'He does deals. He doesn't have a philosophy, he doesn't have a national security grand strategy, he doesn't do policy,' John Bolton, Trump's first-term national security adviser turned ardent critic, said during the POLITICO event. 'When people describe him as transactional, that's what it is.' Brett Bruen, who served as White House director of global engagement under former President Barack Obama and now leads a consulting firm, conceded that Trump has 'showcased sizeable sales and investments.' But, citing patterns from the president's first term, he wondered if they would be 'short-lived.' 'I worry that we may see more than that out of this trip,' Bruen said. 'He has also sent a pretty clear message to other countries that the show, lavishing him with the luxurious, can get you a long way.'
Politico
16-05-2025
- Business
- Politico
‘Commerce not chaos:' Trump remakes the foreign trip
The first multi-day foreign trip of President Donald Trump's second term bucked the norms of presidential travel, demonstrating just how swiftly and drastically his transactional approach to foreign policy has reshaped the way other countries interact with the United States. Trump's whirlwind journey this week through three wealthy Arab Gulf states appeared more like a governor's economic development mission — with corporate leaders and investment pledges — than a typical presidential trip. Usually, those highly choreographed missions are geared toward affirming alliances, engaging in tough diplomatic negotiations and advancing American foreign policy priorities. Trump did all of that, but his chosen allies and priorities were strikingly different. 'This was a trip not on alliances, this was a trip on doing business and doing transactions,' said Dennis Ross, a career diplomat and top Middle East adviser in the George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations. 'In the modern era of American foreign policy, we haven't seen American presidents for whom that's been the unmistakable priority.' The royal families of Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi rolled out the lavender carpet for the president, escorting Air Force One over the Arabian dunes with sleek fighter jets and hosting him — and his entourage of American titans of industry — in their ornate, marbled presidential palaces. The White House said Trump secured more than $2 trillion in investment agreements in the region, including nearly $150 billion between Saudi Arabia and American defense contractors, an order by the Qatari government for 160 Boeing planes and a $60 billion partnership between American energy companies and Abu Dhabi's state-run oil firm. 'The economy and national security are inextricably intertwined, and the bumper sticker for what the president is doing now is very clear,' Sebastian Gorka, a top White House counterterrorism official, said Thursday at the POLITICO Security Summit. Offering a brash new brand of American mercantilism, Trump was explicit about seeking cooperation based 'on commerce, not chaos,' emphatically breaking from a decades-long foreign policy orientation in favor of cooperation with traditional allies based, at least rhetorically, on shared values. He mocked his predecessors — without naming them — as sanctimonious, and promised that he would not deliver any lectures about democracy or 'look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins.' Instead, he lavished his counterparts with compliments, describing the Qatari ruling family as 'tall, handsome guys' and Syria's new leader — whom the U.S. once labeled a terrorist — as 'attractive' and 'tough.' In particular, Trump expressed his admiration for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 'I like him a lot, I like him too much,' the president said during a speech in Riyadh as the crown prince beamed from the front row. Trump presented his decision to lift sanctions on Syria as something of a favor to his host, remarking after announcing the decision, 'Oh, what I do for the crown prince.' The flattery was all the more remarkable just seven years after the assassination of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence officials concluded came at the direction of Bin Salman. When former President Joe Biden was running in 2020, he promised to treat Saudi Arabia as a 'pariah' for its human rights violations — though he later met with the crown prince and offered him an infamous fist bump. Trump 'was saying 'However you treat your own people is your business. It's not our business. Our business is doing business,'' Ross said. Trump flew to Doha the next day for a state visit with the Qatari royal family, from whom he has agreed to accept a $400 million jet to be gifted to the Defense Department for use as Air Force One, then donated to Trump's presidential library at the end of his term. One White House ally who took part in the trip, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, pointed to the large group of American business magnates who tagged along, some attending the investment conference organized by Saudi Arabia and then traveling on and taking part in additional ceremonial events in Qatar and UAE. 'They know where the new economic powerhouse is,' the person said, pointing to the developing synergy between the U.S. government and these Arab nations with sovereign wealth funds that have hundreds of billions of dollars invested worldwide. 'It's a seismic shift of the Gulf region becoming the go-to for Trump on economic and security issues.' The White House acknowledges that Trump's focus on the trip 'is on investments into America,' as one senior official, granted anonymity to speak candidly, put it. But for the Art of the Deal author, the people around him argue, trade and policy go hand in hand. Gorka asserted at the POLITICO summit that the U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal would help end its war with Russia, and that Trump's first-term Middle East policy had set the stage for the 'prosperity' of the deals he was announcing in his second. While touting the region's economic potential as he racked up investment commitments, Trump also plowed ahead with several audacious foreign policy moves, unilaterally shifting America's posture in the region. Not only did Trump announce he was lifting sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi and Turkish leaders, he met personally with its new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa — a former jihadist who, until recently, had a $10 million bounty on his head. And he offered what he called an 'olive branch' to Iran, urging the country's leaders to agree to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, suggesting that such a deal could be finalized in short order. Republicans widely celebrated the moves — and even some Democrats admitted that Trump's norm-defying foreign policy approach, while jarring, is proving effective. 'I'm not in the habit of praising Donald Trump, but I've got to tell you, in the last week or so in the Middle East, Ukraine, Russia, it's a different story,' Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said during the POLITICO Security Summit . 'I've got to tell you, I think the president has, in this last week or so, played the Middle East pretty darn well,' Himes added. Others were more skeptical. 'He does deals. He doesn't have a philosophy, he doesn't have a national security grand strategy, he doesn't do policy,' John Bolton, Trump's first-term national security adviser turned ardent critic, said during the POLITICO event. 'When people describe him as transactional, that's what it is.' Brett Bruen, who served as White House director of global engagement under former President Barack Obama and now leads a consulting firm, conceded that Trump has 'showcased sizeable sales and investments.' But, citing patterns from the president's first term, he wondered if they would be 'short-lived.' 'I worry that we may see more than that out of this trip,' Bruen said. 'He has also sent a pretty clear message to other countries that the show, lavishing him with the luxurious, can get you a long way.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP lawmaker says India, Saudi Arabia most vital for US security interests over next decade
A leading Republican lawmaker said Thursday that India and Saudi Arabia are the two countries that are most vital to U.S. interests in the coming decade as geopolitical competition against Western rivals heats up. 'If you look at the threats from China, Iran, Russia, North Korea and the unholy alliance that they have formed, Saudi Arabia and India are paramount,' said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said at the POLITICO Security Summit. 'Saudi Arabia and India are the two countries that I think are most vital to U.S. interests over the next decade when it comes to bringing about peace and prosperity around the world,' he said. Lawler, who has branded himself as independent, has emerged as a leading Republican voice on foreign policy issues as the party wrestles over the future of its platform on global issues in the MAGA era. His comments offer fresh insights into how the Republican party is seeking to court rising powers in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific as a hedge against growing cooperation between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. 'We don't want India, for instance, continuing to buy weapons from Russia. We obviously want to end the illicit oil trade between China and Iran,' he said. 'We don't want Iran sending drones to Russia. There's a lot of moving parts here, but if you want stability, you need to have stronger ties with some of our partners.' If the Republican party is grappling with internal clashes between the new MAGA right and more traditional Republicans over foreign policy issues from Ukraine to Iran, there is still widespread agreement on deepening ties with India and Saudi Arabia. 'Strengthening the economic relationships between the U.S. and those two countries, strengthening the military relationships between those two countries, is paramount,' Lawler said. Lawler has secured a reelection endorsement from President Donald Trump, while openly clashing with other MAGA acolytes such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), showcasing how he bridges both flanks of the party. He currently sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he chairs the subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. Vice President JD Vance last month visited India to court stronger ties with the country following Trump's pledge to boost defense cooperation with India, including providing New Delhi with F-35 fighter jets. (India's Air Force emerged battered from its recent clash with neighbor and rival Pakistan, with several of its advanced fighter jets reportedly shot down.) India has been historically nonaligned and maintained close ties with Russia, but in recent years it has boosted political and military cooperation with the United States as it grows uneasy about China's emergence as a world superpower. Trump made Saudi Arabia his first foreign visit after reentering the White House and has announced some $600 billion in investment commitments with Saudi Arabia — including $142 billion in potential arms deals with Riyadh.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US space chief warns of emerging threats from China and Russia
Surging technologies spearheaded by Chinese and Russian forces represent the greatest threat in space defense, Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said Thursday at the POLITICO Security Summit. 'The PRC has developed what we've kind of, you know, tongue in cheek, called a 'kill web,' and it's nothing more than a series of hundreds of satellites that are a sensor network that provide real-time updates, targeting quality information of our force,' Saltzman said, warning that the strategy represents the biggest threat in U.S. adversaries' growing space capabilities. Saltzman emphasized the need to bolster U.S. capacity to disrupt the satellite network, saying it most acutely affects the Indo Pacific region. But China's kill web isn't the only area of concern for the space chief. Saltzman also noted Beijing's 'accelerated ability to put capacity on orbit,' adding that Russia, another major U.S. adversary, is similarly demonstrating strength in that arena. Russia, which is partnering with China to launch a joint lunar exploration project dubbed the International Lunar Research Station, also poses major threats to U.S. space defense, Saltzman said. 'The Russians are demonstrating reckless aggressive behaviors with regards to how they intend to contest the space domain that will have far-reaching impacts beyond any localized military effect,' Saltzman said, outlining three major areas of concern in Russian space technology development. Russia's demonstrated kinetic kill capability, which saw it destroying a satellite and generating massive amounts of orbital debris in 2021 before launching its invasion into Ukraine; its cyber attack against Viasat the day it began its Ukrainian incursion and continued jamming efforts; and its ambition of putting a nuclear weapon on orbit all pose significant threats to security, the space chief said. Saltzman's warnings come as the two U.S. adversaries ramp up their efforts to expand their space capabilities. Just last week, Beijing and the Kremlin signed a deal to build a joint nuclear power plant on the moon to power their planned International Lunar Research Station. The project aims to create a permanent base on the moon by the mid-2030s, in competition with the U.S.-led Artemis moon mission.
Politico
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Politico
GOP lawmaker says India, Saudi Arabia most vital for US security interests over next decade
A leading Republican lawmaker said Thursday that India and Saudi Arabia are the two countries that are most vital to U.S. interests in the coming decade as geopolitical competition against Western rivals heats up. 'If you look at the threats from China, Iran, Russia, North Korea and the unholy alliance that they have formed, Saudi Arabia and India are paramount,' said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said at the POLITICO Security Summit. 'Saudi Arabia and India are the two countries that I think are most vital to U.S. interests over the next decade when it comes to bringing about peace and prosperity around the world,' he said. Lawler, who has branded himself as independent, has emerged as a leading Republican voice on foreign policy issues as the party wrestles over the future of its platform on global issues in the MAGA era. His comments offer fresh insights into how the Republican party is seeking to court rising powers in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific as a hedge against growing cooperation between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. 'We don't want India, for instance, continuing to buy weapons from Russia. We obviously want to end the illicit oil trade between China and Iran,' he said. 'We don't want Iran sending drones to Russia. There's a lot of moving parts here, but if you want stability, you need to have stronger ties with some of our partners.' If the Republican party is grappling with internal clashes between the new MAGA right and more traditional Republicans over foreign policy issues from Ukraine to Iran, there is still widespread agreement on deepening ties with India and Saudi Arabia. 'Strengthening the economic relationships between the U.S. and those two countries, strengthening the military relationships between those two countries, is paramount,' Lawler said. Lawler has secured a reelection endorsement from President Donald Trump, while openly clashing with other MAGA acolytes such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), showcasing how he bridges both flanks of the party. He currently sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he chairs the subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. Vice President JD Vance last month visited India to court stronger ties with the country following Trump's pledge to boost defense cooperation with India, including providing New Delhi with F-35 fighter jets. (India's Air Force emerged battered from its recent clash with neighbor and rival Pakistan, with several of its advanced fighter jets reportedly shot down.) India has been historically nonaligned and maintained close ties with Russia, but in recent years it has boosted political and military cooperation with the United States as it grows uneasy about China's emergence as a world superpower. Trump made Saudi Arabia his first foreign visit after reentering the White House and has announced some $600 billion in investment commitments with Saudi Arabia — including $142 billion in potential arms deals with Riyadh.
