Trump’s Gulf Tour: The Money Deals, the Diplomacy and What Comes Next

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT – President Trump headed home Friday after a whirlwind four-day tour of the Persian Gulf that featured multibillion-dollar deals, an unprecedented AI data partnership, and some unexpected diplomatic developments as well. The overall White House message appeared to be a policy of pragmatism and transactional relationships in the Middle East – all the while touting the oil-rich nations of the region as models of success. 

Trump said the deals announced during the visit would help the U.S. economy, and that he was ending an era of U.S. “interventionism” in the region – an approach that appeared evident in his rapprochement with the new leader of Syria, and his negotiations for a new Iran nuclear deal and an end to the war in Gaza.