Trump delivers remarks in Saudi Arabia on first major foreign trip of his second term
As Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia on the first official trip abroad of his second term, eyes are on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the controversial but powerful de facto leader of this oil-rich Gulf nation.
The crown prince, 39, widely referred to as MBS, has for years been trying to transform the home of Islam’s two holiest sites from a deeply conservative, oil-dependent theocracy into a modern and moderate global leader.
Whether it’s hosting American officials negotiating the end of the war in Ukraine or talks over the future of the Gaza Strip, Saudi Arabia has sought to position itself as a broker and go-between. MBS has also spearheaded ambitious domestic projects meant to diversify the country’s economy, liberalize social norms and nudge its large population of young people into the workforce.
Since becoming crown prince in 2017, he has pushed for removing the requirement for women to wear headscarves in public, allowing women to drive and paving the way for the mixing of the sexes in public.
But while he is trying to modernize the country’s economy and society, he has not made moves toward democratizing the country of 33 million. Saudi Arabia remains an absolute monarchy in which voicing dissent can be deeply dangerous.
The crown prince’s image was badly tainted by the 2018 assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the government, in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul. The CIA concluded his assassination was ordered by the crown prince.
Khashoggi’s death shocked many around the world, and briefly made MBS into an outsider on the global stage. During his campaign for president, then-Vice President Joe Biden promising to make Saudi Arabia an international “pariah.”
Even before Khashoggi was killed, human rights defenders inside and outside the country warned about arbitrary arrests, detentions, unfair trials and large numbers of executions in Saudi Arabia.
The country has also been targeted by numerous lawsuits from the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers in the attacks were from Saudi Arabia.
As president, Biden moderated his position — an acknowledgment of Saudi Arabia’s power, particularly as the largest producer of oil in the world.
Trump has shown his preference for strong Saudi ties by making the country the destination of his first official foreign trips during both his administrations.
