Trump Signs $142bn Arms Deal With Saudi Arabia — But at What Cost?
During his whirlwind tour of the Gulf, President Donald Trump made waves — and raised eyebrows — by sealing a colossal $142 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia and announcing a sweeping end to U.S. sanctions on Syria. The visit, rich in spectacle and business bravado, comes at a time when multiple global conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, continue to claim lives and displace millions.
Trump's remarks in Riyadh were heavy on praise for the U.S.-Saudi relationship. “No stronger partner,” he declared, standing beside Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid a backdrop of ceremonial fanfare, Arabian horses, and a lavender carpet — a deliberate shift from traditional red to signal desert wildflowers and Saudi “generosity.”
But the timing, optics, and substance of the visit have left many observers uneasy.
While Trump touted the influx of wealth into America as a success of his second-term agenda — "From the moment we started, we've seen wealth that has poured—and is pouring—into America" — the sheer scale of the arms deal feels out of step with the humanitarian crises playing out globally. Amid the bloodshed in Gaza, instability in Sudan, and the ongoing war in Ukraine, a celebration of weapon sales sends an unnerving message.
More striking still was Trump’s surprise pledge to lift longstanding sanctions on Syria, imposed during Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime. The announcement, made during a speech attended by global tech and finance leaders like Elon Musk, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, is seen as part of a broader push to open Syria to foreign investment following the rise of its new transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” Trump quipped, hinting the move came at Mohammed bin Salman’s behest.
While former ambassador Robert Ford and others hailed the lifting of sanctions as a potential lifeline for Syria’s reconstruction, critics question the moral implications of using diplomacy to expedite commercial access to a war-ravaged country before true political stability or justice has taken root.
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The visit also attempted to rekindle Trump’s ambitions for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords. But the kingdom remains firm: no normalization with Israel without a resolution to the war in Gaza and a credible path to Palestinian statehood.
Trump’s remarks on the Israel-Hamas conflict were perfunctory at best. He accused Hamas of blocking a better future for Gaza but offered no tangible proposals to address the humanitarian catastrophe.
While Trump’s Gulf visit may bolster the U.S. economy and deepen ties with influential allies, the optics of inking billion-dollar arms deals amid global turmoil are unsettling. As bombs fall and civilians flee, doubling down on weapons manufacturing and transactional diplomacy risks further destabilizing already fragile regions.
The lifting of Syria sanctions may offer hope for rebuilding, but doing so with minimal public discussion and at the behest of a foreign crown prince casts doubt on the motivations behind it. Yes, it may be good for American business — but is more militarization really what the world needs right now?
