President Donald Trump has denied having any conflicts of interest from his family’s business ventures in Saudi Arabia as he paved the way for new pacts with the Kingdom’s leader.
Seven years after the gruesome killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump rolled out the red carpet for the man U.S. intelligence agencies held responsible for the 2018 assassination: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The White House meeting with Salman, who says he was not involved in the murder, underscored both the friendship and transactional relationship between the pair.
But as they met in the Oval Office to discuss new pacts on defense and artificial intelligence, Trump was asked if it was appropriate for his family to be doing business in Saudi Arabia while he is president.
“I have nothing to do with the family business,” he said, visibly annoyed at the question.
“I’ve been very successful. I decided to leave that success behind and make America more successful, and I’ve made America more successful than it ever was, and that it ever could have been.”
The president’s family has numerous ties to Saudi Arabia, mostly through real estate licensing and investment.
This week, for instance, the Trump Organization and its Saudi-based development partner, Dar Al Arkan, announced a project allowing cryptocurrency investors to buy into Trump-branded real estate projects.
The Trump Organization is headed by the president’s sons, Don Jr. and Eric. The company also has Trump-branded projects in the capital of Riyadh, a Trump Tower planned in the port city of Jeddah, and ties with LIV Golf, the league backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Meanwhile, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is married to his daughter, Ivanka, runs a private equity firm that has taken $2 billion from a fund led by the crown prince.
However, Trump told reporters on Tuesday: “What my family does is fine. They do business all over. They’ve done very little with Saudi Arabia, actually. I’m sure they could do a lot, and anything they’ve done has been very good.”
The comments came as the president and the crown prince progressed a series of agreements, including one on artificial intelligence and a mutual defense pact.
During the meeting, Trump confirmed that the US would sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, marking the first time the U.S. sells its most sophisticated aircraft to a Middle Eastern country other than Israel.
However, critics have warned that this could undermine America’s national security.
“The Chinese communist party has its claws into information in possession of the Saudis, and I’m very concerned that we’re going to compromise secrets to the CCP,” Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi told CNN on Tuesday.
Trump also hopes the Kingdom will soon join the Abraham Accords, the US-led agreement that involved a number of regional countries establishing formal diplomatic ties with Israel.
He added that the U.S. could also “count on $600 billion” in Saudi investments—something that the crown prince immediately pledged to increase to almost $1 trillion.
However, economists say this is unrealistic, as it is not only the size of Saudi Arabia’s entire sovereign wealth fund but the Kingdom also faces challenges due to subdued oil prices and high spending on mega-projects.
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