Saudi Arabia courts Trump
When President Trump lands in Riyadh on Saturday, Saudi Arabia will get a chance to see if its hard work courting him has paid off.
The kingdom broke with most other Muslim-majority countries to back Trump’s controversial travel executive order and has promised billions of dollars in investment in the United States, among other moves designed to please the president.
As Trump’s visit approached, the Saudis have literally been counting down the seconds on a slick website for the summit that declares: “Together we prevail.”
“They’re really going all out on this pageantry,” said Cole Bockenfeld, deputy director for policy at the Project on Middle East Democracy “Part of that just plays to Trump and his personality.”
U.S.-Saudi relations soured throughout the course of the Obama administration.
The Saudis opposed the Iran nuclear deal because it did not address its archrival’s other activities, such as Iran’s support for group likes Hezbollah.
The Obama administration was also increasingly critical of the Saudis’ conduct in the Yemen civil war and curtailed some military support for the campaign in the final month of his presidency.
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/334323-saudi-arabia-courts-trump
