President Trump said Wednesday the U.S. partnership with Saudi Arabia is among “the most consequential in the entire world,” toasting a $1 trillion investment in American projects and positioning himself as the most Saudi-friendly president in recent history.
Mr. Trump, speaking at a U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, said $270 billion in agreements were already being signed among dozens of companies.
He said it was the fruit of his warm relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who enjoyed a grand welcome to Washington this week.
“Together, the crown prince and I are making an alliance stronger and more powerful than it’s ever been before,” Mr. Trump said at the forum. “You didn’t have a good relationship with Barack Hussein Obama. You didn’t have a good relationship with Sleepy Joe Biden.”
Before Mr. Trump took the stage, billionaire Elon Musk said his AI project, xAI, is working with Nvidia, a major chipmaker, on a 500-megawatt-scale data center in Saudi Arabia. The project is part of Mr. Musk’s work with Saudi company Humain to expand the Saudis’ AI infrastructure.
AI is a critical component of MBS’s plan to diversify his country’s economy beyond oil production. It’s also a key focus for Mr. Trump.
The president is solidifying his relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, as major nations clamor for the company’s advanced “Blackwell” computer chips.
“You have done such a good job,” Mr. Trump said to Mr. Huang, who attended the summit.
On Wednesday, the president said there should be a federal standard for AI regulation so that states do not over-regulate the technology or emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion provisions in their frameworks.
“We MUST have one Federal Standard instead of a patchwork of 50 State Regulatory Regimes. If we don’t, then China will easily catch us in the AI race,” Mr. Trump said on Truth Social.
He said the federal standard would extend to the approval process for AI data centers.
“You’ll have a one-approval process, not go through 50 states,” Mr. Trump said. “Fifty states is a disaster because you’ll have one woke state, and you’ll have to do all woke. You’ll be back into the woke business. We don’t do woke anymore in this country. It’s virtually illegal.”
Saudi Arabia, an Arab power that’s home to 35 million people, has a decades-long relationship with the U.S. as a key security and economic partner in the Gulf region. Mr. Trump has tried to enhance those ties.
The president said their relationship was strengthened by his decision to order military strikes on the nuclear capabilities of Iran, the Saudis’ main Middle East rival.
“We took the dark cloud away from your country,” Mr. Trump said.
Yet the biggest unifier is money.
Mr. Trump said GE Aerospace will soon deliver dozens of new airplane engines for 787 Dreamliners in Saudi Arabia’s commercial fleet.
“It was a big order just secured,” Mr. Trump said. “Every new job and every new factory created by these announcements builds up our middle class. It really strengthens the industrial backbone of America.”
Mr. Trump is touting big-ticket investments from foreign nations at every turn.
He says his threat of tariffs on foreign goods is a key driver of investment as international corporations fund U.S. projects to avoid levies or reduce tariff rates on products they send to American markets.
“This has been the best nine months that any president has ever had,” Mr. Trump said. “Now we have to do it more than a few more times.”
Mr. Trump said his agenda would be supercharged by GOP tax-cut legislation that passed earlier in the year, and he scolded Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for being cautious about interest-rate cuts.
“He’s got some real mental problems. There’s something wrong with him. It’s just ridiculous,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Powell in front of Saudi guests. “I’ll be honest, I’d love to fire his a—.”
Mr. Trump’s remarks to investors capped a big week for the U.S.-Saudi relationship. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump extended security guarantees to the Saudis, akin to a prior pact that ensured military support for Qatar.
The president also defended the crown prince over the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, calling the dissident journalist a “controversial” person.
“Things happen, but [MBS] knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” Mr. Trump told an ABC News reporter in the Oval Office.
Formal investigations alleged the killing was premeditated with the crown prince’s involvement.
The Saudi leader denied personal involvement, and he regained clout with the West, given his country’s status as a key energy and security partner in the Middle East.
Mr. Trump on Wednesday said the crown prince raised concerns about the civil war in Sudan, and that it made an impression on him.
The president pledged action on the Sudanese conflict as part of his broader effort to settle global conflicts.
“I view it differently than I did just a day ago,” Mr. Trump said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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