Former US President Donald Trump is suspected of having taken advantage of his former status to forge privileged economic relations with the Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman. Beyond the question of conflicts of interest, this link has played an important political role between the two countries.
An economic and political association that raises questions in the United States. Former US President Donald Trump is suspected of having taken advantage of his former status to forge privileged economic relations with the Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman.
At the end of his presidency on January 20, 2021, Donald Trump had to face economic problems, linked to the drop in income from his properties with the Covid crisis and to his image tarnished by the assault on the Capitol by his supporters. . To deal with it, his son-in-law and senior assistant Jared Kushner is said to have created a private equity firm, structured so as not to disclose the source of its supply, according to the Washington Post.
According to the investigation of the American newspaper, this company was financed to the tune of two billion dollars, or 1.87 billion euros, by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In 2022, the Trump Organization reached an agreement with a Saudi real estate company to build a hotel in a golf resort worth $4 billion, or 3.74 billion euros, in Oman. At the same time, the golf courses of the former head of state hosted tournaments for LIV Golf, supported by a Saudi fund.
Donald Trump suspected of conflict of interest
Suspicions of a conflict of interest have focused on Donald Trump in recent weeks, questioning his political role and his personal interests. “The financial ties between the Saudi royal family and the Trump family raise very serious issues,” said Senator and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden.
In a writing, Jared Kushner confirmed that Donald Trump pushed hard to prioritize Saudi Arabia despite the objections of his top advisers. This privileged link was to allow the ex-president and his partner to benefit from the support of the prince for an anti-terrorist center, arms purchases and the normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
In return, Mohammed ben Salmane would have had guarantees on arms sales, on the blocking of Qatar, a neighboring country in diplomatic cold and on the non-intervention linked to the imprisonment of many Saudi citizens.
The election of Joe Biden has reshuffled the cards geopolitically. In the fall, the latter firmly opposed Riyadh regarding the reduction of oil production in Saudi Arabia. Candidate for the next presidential election, Donald Trump is criticized for his potential bias on the subject in the event of re-election because of his past and his links with the prince.
