WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� It鈥檚 not just the 鈥済esture鈥� of a $400 million luxury plane that President says to accept from Qatar. Or that he effectively auctioned off the first destination on his first major foreign trip, heading to Saudi Arabia because the kingdom was ready to make big investments in U.S. companies.
It鈥檚 not even that the Trump family has fast-growing business ties in the Middle East that run deep and offer the potential of vast profits.
Instead, it鈥檚 the idea that the combination of these things and more 鈥� deals that show the close ties between a family whose patriarch oversees the U.S. government and a region whose leaders are fond of currying favor through money and lavish gifts 鈥� could cause the United States to show preferential treatment to Middle Eastern leaders when it comes to American affairs of state.
Before Trump began his visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, his sons Eric and Donald Jr. had already traveled the Middle East extensively in recent weeks. They were drumming up business for , which they are running in their father's stead while he's in the White House.
Eric Trump announced plans for an 80-story Trump Tower in Dubai, the UAE鈥檚 largest city. He also attended a recent cryptocurrency conference there with Zach Witkoff, a founder of the Trump family crypto company, , and son of Trump's do-everything envoy to the Mideast, .
鈥淲e are proud to expand our presence in the region,鈥� Eric Trump said last month that Trump Tower Dubai was set to start construction this fall.
The presidential visit to the region, as his children work the same part of the world for the family's moneymaking opportunities, puts a spotlight on Trump's willingness to embrace while in the White House, even in the face of growing concerns that doing so could tempt him to shape U.S. foreign policy in ways that benefit his family's bottom line.
Nowhere is the potential overlap more prevalent than in the Middle East
The Trump family's business interests in the region include a a luxury golf resort in , partnering with Qatari Diar, a real estate company backed by that country's sovereign wealth fund. The family is also to two new real estate projects in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, in partnership with Dar Global, a London-based luxury real estate developer and subsidiary of private Saudi real estate firm Al Arkan.
The Trump Organization has similarly partnered with Dar Global on a Trump Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and an upcoming and luxury golf development in neighboring Oman.
During the crypto conference, a state-backed investment company in Abu Dhabi announced it had chosen USD, World Liberty Financial's , to back a $2 billion investment in , the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Critics say that allows Trump family-aligned interests to essentially take a cut of each dollar invested.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know anything about it,鈥� Trump said when asked by reporters about the transaction on Wednesday.
Then there's the Saudi government-backed LIV Golf, which has forged close business relationships with the president and hosted tournaments at Trump鈥檚 Doral resort in South Florida.
鈥淕iven the extensive ties between LIV Golf and the PIF, or between Trump enterprises more generally and the Gulf, I鈥檇 say there鈥檚 a pretty glaring conflict of interest here," said Jon Hoffman, a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. He was referring to Saudi Arabia鈥檚 , which has invested heavily in everything from global sports giants to with the aim of diversifying the kingdom鈥檚 economy beyond oil.
Trump said he did not talk about LIV Golf during his visit in Saudi Arabia.
The president a $20 billion investment for U.S. data centers promised by DAMAC Properties, an Emirati company led by billionaire Dubai developer . Trump bills that as benefiting the country's technological and economic standing rather than his family business. But Sajwani was a close business partner of Trump and his family since long before the 2016 election.
White House bristles at conflict of interest concerns
Asked before he left for the Middle East if Trump might use the trip to meet with people tied to his family鈥檚 business, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was 鈥渞idiculous鈥� to 鈥渟uggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.鈥�
鈥淭he president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws,鈥� she said.
Administration officials have brushed off such concerns about the president's policy decisions bleeding into the business interests of his family by noting that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. A released by The Trump Organization also bars the firm from striking deals directly with foreign governments.
But that same agreement still allows deals with private companies abroad. In Trump鈥檚 first term, the organization released an prohibiting deals with both foreign governments and foreign companies.
The president, according to the second-term ethics agreement, isn't involved in any day-to-day decision-making for the family business. But his political and corporate brands remain inextricably linked.
鈥淭he president is a successful businessman,鈥� Leavitt said, "and I think, frankly, that it鈥檚 one of the many reasons that people reelected him back to this office.鈥�
Timothy P. Carney, senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he doesn鈥檛 want to see U.S. foreign policy being affected by Trump鈥檚 feelings about how other countries have treated his family鈥檚 business.
鈥淓ven if he鈥檚 not running the company, he profits when the company does well,鈥� Carney said. 鈥淲hen he leaves the White House, the company is worth more, his personal wealth goes up.鈥�
Promises of US investment shaped Trump's trip
His family business aside, the president wasn't shy about saying he'd shape the itinerary of his first extended overseas trip on quid pro quo.
Trump's first stop was Saudi Arabia, just as during his first term. He picked the destination after he said the kingdom had pledged to spend $1 trillion on U.S. companies over four years. The White House has since announced that How much of that will actually be new investment 鈥� or come to fruition 鈥� remains to be seen.
The president is also headed to the UAE, which has pledged $1.4 trillion in U.S. investments over the next 10 years, and Boeing and GE Aerospace announced a $96 billion deal on Wednesday that will see that country's state-owned airline acquire up to 210 American-made Boeing aircraft.
Trump, meanwhile, says accepting the gift of a Boeing 747 from the ruling family is a no-brainer, dismissing security and ethical concerns raised by Democrats and even some conservatives.
Trump's Middle East business ties predate his presidencies
Trump's first commercial foray in the Middle East came in 2005, during just his second year of starring on 鈥淭he Apprentice.鈥� A Trump Tower Dubai project was envisioned as a tulip-shaped hotel to be perched on the city's manmade island shaped like a palm tree.
It never materialized.
Instead, February 2017 saw the announced opening of Trump International Golf Club Dubai, with Sajwani's DAMAC Properties. Just a month earlier, Trump had said that Sajwani had tried to make a $2 billion deal with him, 鈥淎nd I turned it down."
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have to turn it down, because as you know, I have a no-conflict situation because I'm president,鈥� Trump said then.
This January, there was a beaming Sajwani standing triumphantly by Trump's side at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, to announce DAMAC's investment in U.S. data centers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing news for me and my family when he was elected in November,鈥� Sajwani said. 鈥淔or the last four years, we鈥檝e been waiting for this moment.鈥�
Will Weissert, The Associated Press
