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Trump brings simple answers to complex issues in tour of Middle East
The Straits Times
|May 16, 2025
US President Donald Trump's tour of the Middle East is a classic mix of pomp and scandal.
The coverage of the trip in the American media was dominated by the outrage among US lawmakers over Mr Trump's apparent intention to accept a Qatari gift of a Boeing 747-8 executive airliner. At over US$400 million (S$520 million), it is by far the most lavish gift any American leader has ever received.
"The corruption is brazen," alleged Senator Adam Schiff of California, who led the first impeachment case against Mr Trump back in 2019.
Yet beyond this controversy and the predictable US media reporting of fabulously rich Gulf sheikhs with gold palaces in the sand, the reality is that the President's trip is a substantial diplomatic engagement that will have a significant and long-lasting impact on the region.
Mr Trump is genuinely liked and admired in the Gulf. Unlike his immediate predecessor Joe Biden, who came to office vowing to shun Saudi Arabia and its leaders - only to discover that he needed both - Mr Trump has embraced the region's pro-Western monarchies from the start without hesitation.
This story is from the May 16, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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