The lengthy, rambling address he delivered – his first major speech on foreign soil since returning to the White House – mainly resembled the monologues he delivers at his MAGA rallies
Donald Trump scrapped all US sanctions against Syria at the end of a bizarre speech in Saudi Arabia.
The US President is on the first leg of a three-country tour of the Middle East – landing in Riyadh this morning for an ‘investment conference’ hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
But the lengthy, rambling address he delivered – his first major speech on foreign soil since returning to the White House – mainly resembled the monologues he delivers at his MAGA rallies.
But parts of his usual routine sat uncomfortably in Saudi Arabia, where feminism, atheism and homosexuality are punishable by jail.
And Trump’s fawning compliments for his host will sit uncomfortably with the family and friends of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist who was brutally murdered by agents of the Saudi regime in Istanbul in 2018.
Trump went on stage, as he always does, to Lee Greenwood’s patriotic song “God Bless the USA” – the chorus of which runs: “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.”
And he left the stage, as he always does, to the Village People’s gay anthem YMCA.
There were lengthy digressions on domestic US issues – including immigration and the economy.
And at one point he had to stop himself saying America was “the hottest country in the world “, deferring to his host the Crown Prince.
“The United States is the hottest country, with the exception of your country, right?” he said.
“I’m not going to take that on. No, Muhammad, I will not take that on. That would be a terrible thing if I made that statement. I will not do it. You’re hotter.”
Later in the speech he asked bin Salman “how do you sleep?” joking that the Crown Prince “tosses and turns” while thinking of ways to make Saudi Arabia better.
Towards the end of the speech he announced he would move to normalise relations and lift sanctions on Syria’s new government to give the country “a chance at greatness.”
He’s set to meet tomorrow in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of former leader Bashar Assad. He said the effort at rapprochement came at the urging of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed,” Trump** said of Syria, adding, “I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”
The U.S. has been weighing how to handle al-Sharaa since he took power in December. Gulf leaders, have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and will want Trump to follow, believing it is a bulwark against Iran’s return to influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Assad’s government during a decade-long civil war.
Then-President Joe Biden left the decision to Trump, whose administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place.
“The President agreed to say hello to the Syrian President while in Saudi Arabia tomorrow,” the White House said before Trump’s remarks.
The comments marked a striking change in tone from Trump and put him at odds with longtime U.S. ally Israel, which has been deeply skeptical of Al-Sharaa’s extremist past and cautioned against swift recognition of the new government.