Trump defies norms in a dramatic revision of Middle Eastern law.

Doha: President Donald Trump on Wednesday met Syria’s new leader. He asked Qatari mediators to help broker peace with Iran. And he once again declared he would be a “FOOL” not to take Qatar’s offer of a luxury jumbo jet for his use.

It was a day-long flurry that laid plain how the US leader is reorienting Washington’s role in the world in a far more transactional direction, one based more on quick wins than sweeping declarations of grand strategies.

The day began with pomp in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and ended in neighbouring Qatar after Trump was greeted with camels and sped to what he said was a “perfecto” marble palace. Along the way, Trump continued to rewrite the US approach to the region as he met Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former rebel leader once affiliated with al-Qaeda who has sought to project a more moderate image since capturing Syria’s capital, Damascus, in December.

‘All the Gulfies like dealing with Trump. It’s easy to understand where he’s coming from’.

Hussein Ibish, Arab Gulf States Institute

It was the latest instance of Trump’s pragmatic, try-everything approach to foreign policy. It has led to a blitz of efforts, including freeing the last US hostage held by Hamas, declaring a desire to reverse nearly 50 years of simmering tension with Iran and contemplating Qatar’s offer of a $US400 million ($600 million) luxury Boeing 747, in the service of addressing Trump’s frustration with the ageing Air Force One.

Many initiatives have uncertain prospects of success, and the potential free jet has unsettled even some of Trump’s most ardent supporters, who have questioned whether a foreign power is buying its way into the president’s heart in the form of luxury.

Trump hammered back in defence of the 747 idea on Wednesday, saying in a Truth Social post that Qatar wants to “reward us for a job well done” and that “only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our country”.

Trump’s transactional approach to the presidency has neatly matched that of the monarchs in the Persian Gulf region, who recognise that Trump is happiest when they are doing deals with him, whether business, security or gifted 747s.

Qatar on Wednesday inked a deal to buy what Trump touted as 160 Boeing jets – there was some uncertainty about the number – as the US leader bragged: “That’s a record.”

“All the Gulfies like dealing with Trump,” said Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. “It’s easy to understand where he’s coming from. It’s a patriarchal structure. He’s the big guy, and everything centres around him. That’s how they move, too.”

Monarchs in the Gulf region “do not distinguish between their personal interests and national interests”, Ibish said.

Trump’s stops on this trip – from Saudi Arabia to Qatar to the United Arab Emirates – line up neatly as countries where his sons have signed business deals in recent weeks on behalf of the Trump Organisation, the family business, and World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm started in September that was co-founded by Trump’s sons and Zach Witkoff, one of the sons of Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.

The White House says that Trump is taking a financial hit from being president and that he no longer has any involvement in his family businesses.

But Qatar may be at the forefront in using its largesse to turn around its status with Trump. For much of his first term, Saudi Arabia led a de facto regional blockade against Qatar, isolating the country economically over its relationship with Iran, its past support for the Muslim Brotherhood, and its funding for the Al Jazeera news network, whose reporting has at times upset neighbouring governments.

Back then, Trump largely sympathised with Qatar’s opponents, though his administration worked to end the tensions and used Doha as a mediator in talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban rebels.

The blockade ended in January 2021, shortly before Trump left office. Since then, Qatari leaders have doubled down on their efforts to be indispensable regional mediators, hosting talks between Hamas and Israel, and between Russia and Ukraine, among others.

Trump has been ready to move at a greater speed on foreign policy in his second term.

Freed from the pressures of re-election, and from the nay-saying of advisers who sometimes curbed his impulses the first time around, the president is far more open to trying unorthodox policies – such as imposing crippling tariffs on US allies, then spinning around and dialling them back after bond markets rebelled.

He also has been open to mixing official work with actions that boost his family’s business interests, including the Trump meme coin and a Melania Trump documentary for which Amazon has paid $US40 million.

In the case of Syria, Trump’s approach was a welcome relief to proponents of a fresh strategy toward Damascus. They had pushed to end sanctions that they said were needlessly damaging a country beginning to shake off 14 years of civil war.

The meeting with Sharaa went “great”, Trump told reporters on Air Force One during the hour-long flight from Saudi Arabia to Qatar. Sharaa is a “young, attractive guy,” Trump said. “Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”

Sharaa has “a real shot at holding it together,” Trump said. “He’s a real leader. He led the charge, and he’s amazing.”

In a meeting of leaders of the Gulf Co-operation Council in Riyadh on Wednesday, Trump noted that his announcement the previous evening that he would reverse sanctions on Syria drew an ovation and the largest applause of the night.

“I’ve seen such progress,” Trump said of the region. “The whole world is watching the Middle East.”

Wednesday’s meeting with Sharaa stretched more than half an hour, according to the White House. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosted, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dialled in via speakerphone. The sanctions on Syria that Trump ended Tuesday were intended to squeeze the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who ruled the country with an iron grip for decades before he was ousted in December.

The measures had been left in place because of Washington’s uncertainty about Sharaa’s intentions and to push him to remake Syria inclusively. But advocates of a policy change said they were sending the wrong message to Damascus and depriving the new leader of the oxygen he needed to air out society. Trump ultimately sided with them.

Trump also handed Iran a choice, warning that he would not allow the country to develop a nuclear weapon but also declaring a startling openness to reshaping relations with Tehran if it makes a deal.

‘I haven’t seen camels like that in a long time.’

Donald Trump

“I hope you can help me with the Iran situation,” Trump said on Wednesday at an opulent state dinner with Qatari leaders. “You want to do something that’s going to save maybe millions of lives. Because things like that get started, and they get out of control.”

Trump’s approach has unsettled leaders who take a more ideological view of global affairs, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel sees Iran as a mortal enemy, and in Gaza, the country has often prioritised bombing Hamas into submission rather than engaging diplomatically to free the remaining hostages held by the Palestinian militant group.

The Trump administration went over Netanyahu’s head and worked directly with Hamas to secure this week’s release of the final American hostage, Edan Alexander. But Trump on Wednesday said Israel should not be worried.

“This is good for Israel, having a relationship like I have with these countries, Middle Eastern countries, essentially all of them,” he said.

As with the Saudis, the Qataris also rolled out a lavish ceremony for Trump’s arrival, with an honour guard of dozens singing songs, some of them mounted on white horses, some on black horses, others dancing with swords raised. There were also camels.

“I haven’t seen camels like that in a long time. And it was some greeting. We appreciate it very much,” Trump said upon arrival at the Amiri Diwan, the administrative offices of Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Trump marvelled at the soaring architecture around him.

“The job you’ve done is second to none. You look at this, it’s so beautiful,” he said. “As a construction person, I’m seeing perfect marble. This is what they call perfecto.”

At a state dinner at Lusail Palace, Trump and the emir stood in a receiving line for nearly an hour. Drums and singing could be heard from outside, and the smell of incense filled the room inside. A massive chandelier was suspended over them.

A parade of officials came to shake hands, including Christopher Ruddy, the founder of Newsmax; Antonio Gracias, one of Elon Musk’s closest friends; and media personality Piers Morgan.

Musk arrived more than 30 minutes late, doing a chat and cut to get towards the front of the line. Stephen Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone, also appeared, as did Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, which brought the World Cup to Qatar in 2022 and awarded it to the United States for 2026.

The Qatari leader had done his homework to appeal to Trump: talking up his massive investments in the United States, mentioning the US trade surplus with Qatar and saying Qatar likes to “drill, baby drill” – a Trump campaign slogan.

“I’m so grateful for the trade deficit we have with you because the surplus swings in your favour,” Tamim said.

“It’s just a perfect evening,” Trump said.

The Washington Post

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.