[By Guancha Observer Network, Liu Chenghui]
After securing Saudi Arabia's multi-billion-dollar investment commitments, US President Trump was very pleased.
On the afternoon of May 13th, in Riyadh, at the luxurious banquet hall of the US-Saudi Investment Forum, Trump delivered a speech lasting around 40 minutes, starting with a series of strong praises.
Trump said that visiting Saudi Arabia was a "great honor" for him. He highly praised Saudi Arabia as a "great place" with "great people," and stated that Riyadh is becoming the "world capital." Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman is an "incredible person"...
What drew more attention was his fierce criticism of Western interventionism. Trump admitted that so-called "nation-builders" have destroyed far more countries than they have built, and promised that America will end nation-building and interventionist actions, vowing not to "teach you how to live."
These words sparked applause from the audience.
Is the United States, which often wields the "democracy" and "human rights" cudgels, really changing?
Critics were straightforward, calling Trump's speech a "public relations show." A researcher at an American think tank pointed out that although Trump's remarks sounded surprising at first, they were actually unsurprising upon closer reflection. The purpose was to promote his own conservative worldview.
An Egyptian lawyer also believed there was no need to overinterpret this speech. Trump's visit was mainly for investment purposes. Both Trump and his predecessors focused on American interests, only packaging them differently—some used "human rights" and "democracy" as wrappers.
The CNBC noticed that Trump spent most of his speech praising Saudi Arabia.
He told Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was seated in the center of the audience, "Critics questioned the feasibility of your reforms, but over the past eight years, Saudi Arabia has silenced all skeptics with facts."
Trump did not stop praising. He then addressed the other attendees, "He (the Crown Prince) is your best representative, the best representative. If I didn't like him, I would have left long ago. You know that, right? He knows me well. I truly—I really like him, I like him very much!"
In response to Trump's "sweet talk," Bin Salman smiled throughout and occasionally placed his hand on his chest to express gratitude.
The New York Times reported on May 14th that Trump's remarks contrast sharply with Biden's administration's coolness and criticism towards Saudi Arabia on human rights issues such as the Khashoggi case.
Besides lavishly praising the Crown Prince, Trump also fiercely criticized Western interventionists, calling on regional people to "plan their own destinies in their own ways."
"The birth of modern Middle East is brought by the people of this region themselves, those who have lived here all their lives, developing their sovereign nations, pursuing their unique visions, and planning their own destinies in their own ways."
"What you have done is truly incredible."
"Ultimately, so-called 'nation-builders' have destroyed far more countries than they have built, interventionists interfere in complex societies even they don't understand... They teach you how to do it, but they themselves don't know how to."
Trump said, "In recent years, too many U.S. presidents have been affected by this notion: we have the responsibility to scrutinize the souls of foreign leaders and correct their sins with American policies."
"The splendid miracles of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by so-called 'nation-builders,' neoconservatives, or liberal non-profit organizations—just like those organizations that spent trillions of dollars but failed to develop Baghdad and many other cities."
"Now you are in control. Together with me, America will respect your sovereignty."
Trump promised that America will maintain a stable partnership with Saudi Arabia, saying, "We won't come and go like others."
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman greeted Trump.
There was another round of applause.
Trump mentioned he was willing to improve relations with Iran and Syria.
"I am here today not only to condemn the choices made by Iranian leaders in the past, but also to provide them with a new path to a more promising future—a better path." He said he was willing to end past conflicts and establish new partnerships for a better, more stable world.
He hoped that Saudi Arabia could normalize relations with Israel, which he said was "crucial for the future of the Middle East."
The New York Times pointed out that Trump's remarks were actually condemning decades of U.S. Middle East policy, echoing long-standing grievances among regional countries.
Such boasting earned both praise and skepticism.
In the eyes of a Saudi dissident, Trump's speech was a "public relations show" for the Crown Prince.
Senior Research Fellow Alaamer of the Washington-based "NewLine" Institute analyzed that Trump's remarks sounded like left-wing anti-imperialist ideas, but these ideas were often borrowed by right-wing populists to advance their conservative agenda.
"Although we Arabs have long been the objects of American preaching and intervention, this sounds surprising. But given that both the Gulf states and American right-wing populists are using such rhetoric to promote their conservative worldview, it is not surprising," Alaamer said.
Egyptian prominent human rights lawyer Negad El-Borai said he did not want to overinterpret this speech, after all, Trump came for investment.
He said that Trump just directly expressed the core issue that previous U.S. presidents truly cared about, which is "American interests," regardless of how previous administrations packaged them with "human rights" and "democracy."
"America prioritizes its own interests," El-Borai said, "You can clearly see from all of Trump's speeches that he expresses his views very frankly."
On May 13th, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia signed economic cooperation agreements with Trump. Visual China
Before attending the investment forum, Trump boasted after meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the United States had obtained $600 billion in investment commitments from Saudi Arabia and billions of dollars in defense cooperation.
According to a White House briefing released afterward, these investment packages primarily covered areas such as energy security, defense industry, technology, infrastructure, and critical minerals.
The largest deal was a $142 billion "largest arms sales agreement in history," CNBC noted that this number was nearly double Saudi Arabia's 2025 defense budget ($78 billion).
However, The New York Times found that according to the White House statement, the actual total transaction amount was only $283 billion.
The newspaper said that the details provided by the White House were unclear, with the announced transaction amount less than half of what the Crown Prince promised. Careful observation of the projects provided by the government revealed that some of them were already being prepared before Trump took office.
During Trump's first term, his first overseas visit was also to Saudi Arabia, where he secured $45 billion in investments. However, Tim Karran, former head of the International Monetary Fund's Saudi Arabia mission and economist, found that this investment was not fully realized.
After Saudi Arabia, Trump began his visit to Qatar.
On the afternoon of the 14th, multiple cooperation agreements were signed in areas such as trade and defense. Among them, Boeing received orders worth $200 billion, and Qatar will purchase 160 aircraft from Boeing.
Trump said he held a two-hour closed-door meeting with Emir Tamim of Qatar, discussing regional and international hotspots such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Iran nuclear negotiations.
This article is an exclusive contribution from the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7504536335957410313/
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