News Analysis
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump’s recent tour of the Middle East sent a clear message that economic interests and deal-making lie at the heart of his foreign policy vision.
Trump spent four days in the Gulf from May 13 to 16, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, where he secured investment commitments worth trillions of dollars that will benefit U.S. businesses and jobs.
Though questions remain over how much of the pledged investment will materialize, the trip marked a strategic shift in Washington’s engagement with the Middle East. Trump drew a sharp contrast with past U.S. administrations, rejecting the interventionist foreign policy approach embraced by both Republican and Democratic parties for decades….