Trail Notes
Trump's Saudipalooza / Trump family Saudi deals / Trump hissy fit / NIH trial cuts / Swiss gold gifts / Blaming immigrants for beef prices / Mike Flynn's $50m settlement
Trump’s Saudipalooza
It was Saudi Arabia Day in Washington on Tuesday. There was a red carpet, a military band, a flyover, and a black tie dinner at the White House—all to welcome Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It was his first visit to the nation’s capital since the 2018 murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi, a killing the prince almost certainly ordered, according to U.S. intelligence.
But that was then. Donald Trump has an affinity for Middle Eastern royalty. He clearly prefers them over many of the leaders of America’s traditional allies in Europe. They get that great wealth leads to great power that leads to greater wealth. They have no problem with mixing governing and personal business. And they love to do deals.
Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, wants top-of-the-line weapons, and despite U.S. military intelligence concerns that China could access and steal the technology, Trump happily announced that he will sell dozens of F-35s, America’s most sophisticated fighter jet, to Saudi Arabia. Trump also will allow U.S. companies to sell their most advanced artificial intelligence chips to the Saudis. Plus, Trump granted MBS his wish to have Saudi Arabia get the same kind of security agreement he recently extended to Qatar. In return, MBS promised Saudi Arabia would increase its investments in the United States to nearly $1 trillion. Finally, Trump pushed to have Saudi Arabia officially recognize Israel, but MBS said not until there’s an independent Palestinian state. So that’s not happening anytime soon.
First family cashes in in Saudi Arabia
Back to that mixing governance and personal business thing. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and sometimes diplomat, has deep business ties to Saudi Arabia. His investment fund, Affinity Partners, has raised billions of dollars of capital from the country.
Meanwhile, the Trump Organization’s favorite international investment partner, real estate developer Dar Global, says it expects the Trump Organization to play a role in a massive $63 billion real estate project in Saudi Arabia to transform the town of Diriyah into a luxury destination with hotels, retail shops and office space. Last year, Dar Global paid the Trump family business $22 million in licensing fees.
Another Trump hissy fit
While MBS was in town, there was yet another Oval Office episode in which the president berated a reporter for asking questions he didn’t like. ABC reporter Mary Bruce had the nerve to ask about the appropriateness of a lavish welcome for a man who not that long ago ordered journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. After his Pavlovian “fake news” response, Trump tore into Bruce, not only calling her a “terrible reporter,” but also a “terrible person,” then going full despot and suggesting that maybe ABC should lose its license. The president went on to say that Khashoggi was “extremely controversial” and that “a lot of people didn’t like him.” The president wrapped things up by saying, “Things happen” and that the crown prince “knew nothing about it.”
A footnote: During an interview in 2020, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward asked Trump about the Saudi leader’s role in Khashoggi’s killing. “I saved his ass,” Trump said on tape. “I was able to get Congress to leave him alone.”
Clinical trials cut short
When the National Institutes of Health cut more than $3.8 billion in grants to research institutions earlier this year, it disrupted clinical trials that were treating some 75,000 patients. A total of 383 clinical trials ended prematurely, according to a study published Monday by JAMA Internal Medicine. That included 14 percent of the trials involving infectious diseases, including the flu, pneumonia and COVID; 6 percent of the respiratory trials; and 5 percent of the cardiovascular trials.
Swiss bearing gold gifts
It was no secret that Swiss leaders were flustered by the 39 percent tariff Donald Trump imposed on imports from their country. Prime Minister Karin Keller-Sutter tried to get the president to change his mind, but no such luck. “The woman was nice but she didn’t want to listen,” Trump told CNBC. So, despite their longstanding commitment to military neutrality, the Swiss called in the calvary.
Earlier this month, a delegation of Swiss business heavyweights, including the CEOs of Rolex and other major financial, energy and luxury goods companies, visited the White House. And they came bearing gifts. One present, compliments of Rolex, was a gold desk clock. Another was a gold bar worth more than $130,000 and stamped with “45” and “47” to mark his Trump’s presidential terms.
Trump was impressed, a White House source told Axios, even more than he had been by his previous favorite gift, an engraved glass disc with a 24-karat gold base from Apple CEO Tim Cook. The Swiss also agreed to invest more in the United States, but the gold gifts helped seal the deal, according to the White House source. Last Friday, Trump dropped the tariff on Swiss imports down to 15 percent.
Blaming immigrants for beef prices
Undocumented immigrants are the Trump administration’s favorite scapegoat. If there’s a problem, it’s got to be their fault. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent even blamed them for the high cost of beef. He told Fox News that immigrants from Latin America brought diseased cattle into the country and drove up prices.
According to industry analysts, a much bigger factor is the United States has its smallest cattle herd in 75 years due to high feed costs and long stretches of drought due to climate change, but that’s a term that the administration banished from the American lexicon.
Michael Flynn’s $50 million windfall
On two different occasions, Michael Flynn, who was briefly Donald Trump’s national security adviser during his first term, pleaded guilty to a felony count of lying to the FBI about a conversation he had with a Russian ambassador. But the charge was dismissed after Trump pardoned Flynn in November 2020. Now Flynn is seeking restitution.
Flynn’s attorney claims “Rogue FBI actors orchestrated a politically motivated hoax to attempt to shatter his life, all while staging a soft coup against President Trump, draining millions in lost opportunities and legal fees from Flynn while the government lavished payouts on those very bad-faith saboteurs.” The Justice Department is reportedly considering a $50 million settlement.
Ponzi pardon goes bad
Speaking of Trump pardons, Eli Weinstein was serving a 24-year prison term for running a Ponzi scheme before his sentence was commuted by Trump. Last Friday, Weinstein was sentenced to 37 years in prison for running yet another Ponzi scheme after he got out. He was found guilty of stealing $44 million from people who thought he was using their money to buy COVID masks, baby formula and first aid kits for Ukrainians. Instead, Weinstein and his co-conspirators used the money to gamble in casinos, buy real estate, and repay investors in his earlier scam.
Forgiving corrupt politicians
And while we’re on the subject, according to tracking by the Citizens for Ethics nonprofit, Trump has now pardoned 18 elected officials convicted of corruption charges. Eight were federal elected politicians and 10 held state or local public offices. Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi has significantly downsized the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, which focuses on prosecuting public corruption.
Trump’s fading ratings fantasy
While speaking at a U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, Donald Trump had this to say about his popularity. He said pollsters once told him, “Sir, if George Washington and Abraham Lincoln came back from the dead and they aligned and they went for president, vice president as a combination, you’d be beating them by 25 points.”
But this is now. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 38 percent, the lowest of his second term. He’s especially hurting when it comes to how people feel about his handling of the cost of living. That’s now down to 26 percent.
Happy Thanksgiving
We’re not publishing Trail Notes next Friday to give ourselves a break. If all hell breaks loose next week (and it breaks loose on a regular basis these days), you can read all about it in Trail Notes on November 28. Have a good Thanksgiving!
Randy Rieland is a former columnist at Smithsonian magazine, website director at the Discovery Channel, and senior writer at Washingtonian magazine.
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