Trump lavishes praise on Saudi crown prince, signalling renewed alliance

RIYADH/WASHINGTON – In 2021, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman struggled to get an audience with then-president Joe Biden, who said he wanted to make the Gulf country a pariah after its leader allegedly ordered the murder of a Washington-based journalist.

On May 13, President Donald Trump lavished effusive praise on Saudi's de facto ruler, calling him "an incredible man" and a "great guy", and made no mention of human rights concerns in the country.

"I like him a lot. I like him too much," Mr Trump gushed as cameras flashed and the crowd applauded at an investment summit in Riyadh, where the US president

kicked off the first major overseas trip of his second term

.

The display of affection for a leader with a contentious history mirrored Mr Trump's first term, when he forged an alliance with Crown Prince Mohammed that deepened through years of mutual flattery and dealmaking.

The relationship remains anchored in shared interests: Mr Trump is chasing major economic wins and a revived US role in the region, while Crown Prince Mohammed seeks access to advanced technology, military support and a powerful ally in his push to modernise Saudi Arabia and assert regional leadership.

At the summit, Trump touted

a US$142 billion (S$185 billion) defence agreement

and a sweeping US$600 billion Saudi investment package spanning artificial intelligence, infrastructure and energy.

Mr Trump's ties with the crown prince have sparked criticism from US lawmakers, human rights groups and foreign policy analysts for what they viewed as prioritising economic interests over human rights.

While Crown Prince Mohammed has

denied involvement in journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder

and pointed to reforms such as expanding women's rights as evidence of progress, analysts said these changes were undercut by continued crackdowns on dissent and political freedoms.

Mr Trump's rapport with Crown Prince Mohammed is far warmer than his White House predecessor's. Yet Mr Biden's relationship with the Saudi leader took a friendlier turn too, evolving from initial harsh criticism to pragmatic cordiality.

Mr Biden opts for reset

In 2019, the Democratic president promised to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" on the world stage for Mr Khashoggi's killing and its broader human rights record.

But geopolitical realities, such as skyrocketing oil prices caused in part by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, highlighted a need for cooperation between Washington and Riyadh.

That led Mr Biden to decide it was time to reset the strategic relationship, and he eventually visited the crown prince in July 2022.

The two men greeted each other with a fist bump, which drew some criticism as an overly friendly gesture given human rights concerns. White House aides insisted it was a way to lower Mr Biden's risk of contracting Covid-19.

Relations improved quickly as his administration worked to broker a deal for normalising Saudi-Israeli relations in exchange for a broader US defence agreement.

The effort was frozen by the Oct 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel and Israel's subsequent war on Gaza.

During Mr Trump's visit on May 13, the crown prince personally greeted the US president, escorting him up an escalator and later driving him in a golf cart ahead of a state dinner.

In a moment that underscored the depth of their personal bond, Mr Trump

pledged to lift US sanctions on Syria

– a dramatic move that he said came at Crown Prince Mohammed’s request.

"Oh, what I do for the crown prince," Mr Trump said, as the crown prince placed his hands over his heart and led a standing ovation. REUTERS