President Donald Trump spent the bulk of what was billed as a “major foreign policy address” to outline his vision for the Middle East instead touting his domestic policies and heaping praise on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman while speaking at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum on Tuesday.
Four years after the U.S. intelligence community report was released that concluded that the crown prince approved the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump lauded the crown prince for his leadership and friendship.
“He’s your greatest representative, greatest representative. And if I didn’t like him, I’d get out of here so fast. You know that, don’t you? He knows me well. I do — I like him a lot. I like him too much. That’s why we give so much, you know? Too much. I like you too much,” Trump said while speaking in Saudi Arabia.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the end of the Keynote Address at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025.
Ali Haider/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The speech marks a remarkable turn from the United States, especially considering the international condemnation then-President Joe Biden received when he visited Saudi Arabia in 2022 and famously fist-bumped the crown prince. While Biden once labeled Saudi Arabia a “pariah,” Trump celebrated the kingdom, its leader and its potential.
“For the people of this room, the days of economic misery under the last administration are rapidly giving way to the greatest economy in the history of the world,” Trump said.
Speaking to members of the royal family and some of the most powerful business leaders in the world, Trump credited the crown prince for Saudi Arabia’s recent economic development.
“Riyadh is becoming not just a seat of government but a major business, cultural and high-tech capital of the entire world,” Trump said.
“Mohammed, do you sleep at night? How do you sleep?” Trump said as the crowd applauded. “Critics doubted that it was possible, what you’ve done, but over the past eight years, Saudi Arabia has proved the critics totally wrong.”
In this July 15, 2022, file photo, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman fist bumps President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Al Salman Palace, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Royal Court of Saudi Arabia / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, FILE
Throughout his remarks, the crown prince smiled on, applauding and laughing at Trump’s jokes, with billionaire Elon Musk seated prominently over his shoulder.
The president also announced he will be ordering the end of sanctions against Syria and suggested he did so at Saudi Arabia’s request, as well as Turkey’s.
“Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” Trump quipped. “The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important, really an important function, nevertheless, at the time. But now it’s their time to shine.”
Trump then touted his immigration policies, his win in November and his own economic agenda.
“The United States is the hottest country, with the exception of your country,” he told Prince Mohammed. “I have to say right, I won’t. I’m not going to take that on. No, Mohammed, I’m not going to take that on. Wouldn’t that be a terrible thing if I made that full statement? But I will get to it. You’re hotter, at least as long as I’m up here. You’re hotter.”