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Donald Trump shows off his invitation from King Charles III (Image: Getty)
Donald Trump has decided to visit Saudi Arabia in his first international trip, in a major snub to the UK. The British Prime Minister launched a charm offensive during his recent trip to Washington.
During their meeting in front of the press, Sir Keir Starmer brandished a letter from King Charles III, inviting the US President for an unprecedented second state visit, as they posed for the world's press in the White House. The Labour leader's tactics appeared to have worked wonders, as President Trump later declared that there was a "good chance" of the two countries signing a "great" trade deal.
Trump visited Saudi Arabia in 2017 (Image: Getty)
The positive talks raised hopes that Trump might choose to make the UK his first port of call on his international travels.
However, the US President cruelly dashed such hopes, when he announced he was heading to the Middle East instead.
And it would seem the decisive factor in his decision was Saudi Arabia's apparent willingness to invest large sums of money in American businesses.
"I'm going to Saudi Arabia," Trump said. "You know I've made a deal with Saudi Arabia, where because normally you'd go to UK first.
"So I said, I'll go if you pay one trillion dollars to American companies. So I'm going to be going there."
The US President also visited the Saudi Kingdom for his first international trip when he was elected to office in 2016.
He then went on to visit Israel as he pushed for a peace deal with the Palestinians, before travelling on to meet the pope.
After the Vatican visit, he headed to Brussels, where he met NATO allies, before attending a G7 summit in Italy.
In the recent past, US presidents have typically chosen to visit countries close to America for their first major international outing.
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President Barack Obama chose Canada for his first visit in 2009, while President George W. Bush headed to Mexico.
Bush called Mexico the US's most important bilateral trading partner when he visited the country for his first trip in 2001.
President Bill Clinton also chose Canada for his first visit in 1993, where he met the then Russian leader Boris Yeltsin to present a $1 billion aid package in order to promote democratic reform in the country.
English (US) · 