President Donald Trump is set to welcome Saudi Arabia’s influential Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House on Tuesday with the full ceremony of a state visit, according to sources knowledgeable about the plans. The event will feature a morning welcoming ceremony and a formal evening dinner.
“We’re more than meeting,” Trump declared late Friday while traveling to Florida for the weekend. “We’re honoring Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince.”
Although the White House has chosen to provide the complete ceremonial treatment, this visit cannot technically be labeled an official state visit since Prince bin Salman is not the Saudi head of state. That role belongs to his 89-year-old father, King Salman. However, the crown prince has taken on nearly all daily governing duties for the kingdom and represents the country at diplomatic events and international summits.
Before Prince bin Salman’s first White House appearance in over seven years, Trump revealed that the US would sell F-35 fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia — a divisive decision that might shift the military dynamics in the Middle East.
“They’ve been a great ally,” Trump informed reporters. “I will say that we will be doing that. We’ll be selling F-35s.”
Trump has worked to build a strong partnership with the kingdom’s effective leader, hoping he will choose to forge diplomatic relations with Israel, which would significantly advance the president’s notable Abraham Accords — a key objective for the president.
“The Abraham Accords will be a part we’re going to be discussing,” Trump stated Friday. “I hope that Saudi Arabia will be going into the Abraham Accords fairly shortly.”
The prince’s previous Washington visit occurred in 2018, several months before dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. A subsequent CIA evaluation determined the prince had probably directed the assassination, though he has consistently rejected any participation. Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, Khashoggi’s widow, shared with CNN’s Jim Sciutto regarding the scheduled White House gathering: “It’s very painful for me. It will be better if Jamal was here and receiving the crown prince by himself and meet with him and share with him his vision and mission, and all of his ideas.”
Trump never completely severed connections with the crown prince during his initial presidency, although he wasn’t asked back to the White House. Even Trump’s replacement, President Joe Biden, who pledged as a candidate to treat Saudi Arabia as a “pariah” due to its human rights violations, traveled to Riyadh during his administration and fist-bumped Prince bin Salman.
With Tuesday’s gathering, any appearance of a break in US-Saudi relations seems to have vanished. The arrangements feature a welcoming ceremony with military bands, a bilateral discussion in the Oval Office, and a formal dinner in the evening.
The initial batch of invitations went out earlier this month, and the attendee list consists mainly of business executives, along with legislators and governors — some of whom Trump personally contacted to invite to the dinner, according to people aware of the arrangements. The event is being organized by first lady Melania Trump, as all state visits are managed through the first lady’s office.
Trump has not yet conducted a state visit during his second presidency, which typically serves as a demonstration of friendship and showcases the strong bonds the US maintains with its allies. Trump departed from custom during his first administration by choosing not to host a state dinner in his opening year, though he later welcomed France’s president and Australia’s prime minister in 2018 and 2019.
“President Trump looks forward to welcoming Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to the White House, where the two leaders will participate in an official working visit,” a White House spokesperson stated to CNN. “We will not get ahead of the President on conversations that are occurring ahead of time.”
Saudi Arabia is also organizing an investment conference to align with the crown prince’s Washington trip. The Kennedy Center event, scheduled for the day following the White House meeting, aims to connect American and Saudi business executives for financial partnerships.
In May, Trump traveled to Saudi Arabia for his second term’s first state visit and received an elaborate welcome, featuring a fighter jet escort, an honor guard carrying golden swords, and Arabian horses accompanying his vehicle. The president has aimed to strengthen relationships with other Gulf nations during his time in office, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Prior to the May visit, Saudi Arabia pledged to invest $600 billion in the United States. Trump brought multiple American business leaders to Riyadh and signed various agreements. Many remain partially implemented.
Before Tuesday’s discussions, US and Saudi representatives were working to complete agreements on defense and security partnership, according to a US official.
Riyadh has consistently pursued the F-35s, among the world’s most sophisticated military aircraft. However, Israel — the sole Middle Eastern nation possessing these jets — worries about preserving its military advantage. Congress might prevent export permits for the F-35s to Saudi Arabia, though this would be uncommon.
## Discussions about normalizing relations with Israel
Leading Trump’s priorities will be conversations about Saudi Arabia establishing normal relations with Israel, a move he considers achievable after helping negotiate a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
The October 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel and the subsequent war largely suspended the normalization talks that started during Trump’s first term and progressed under Biden. A structure being considered before the attacks would involve a US defense pact with Saudi Arabia and assistance developing a civilian nuclear program in return for creating diplomatic ties with Israel.
Biden and several key advisers have stated they suspect the October 7 attack was designed, partly, to disrupt the normalization discussions. With a ceasefire now established, Trump believes an agreement can be rapidly achieved.
“I hope to see Saudi Arabia go in, and I hope to see others go in,” Trump told Fox News last month. “I think they’re going to all go in very soon.”
Nevertheless, some obstacles persist in gaining the crown prince’s support. While he and Trump are anticipated to sign a defense cooperation pact Tuesday, it doesn’t meet the treaty standards discussed in earlier normalization phases, the US official noted. A formal treaty would need congressional authorization.
Saudi Arabia has also indicated that normalizing relations with Israel requires a “credible” and “irreversible” path to Palestinian statehood, which the Gaza agreement Trump helped negotiate doesn’t fully provide.
For Saudi Arabia, another matter ranks highly on the schedule — Sudan’s stability, which it considers essential for its own security, believing only Trump can halt external backing for the civil war there.
American officials remain optimistic about achieving progress on the normalization matter during Tuesday’s meeting.
Jared Kushner, one of the Abraham Accords’ creators and Trump’s son-in-law, traveled to Riyadh last week for discussions with the crown prince before Tuesday’s gathering, according to a White House official and someone familiar with the situation. Kushner has maintained a close, personal bond with the Saudi prince and has been sent multiple times recently to leverage his Middle East connections to prepare for Trump’s agenda and expand the Abraham Accords.
Contributing to the visit’s delicate nature are Trump’s personal financial connections in the region. The Trump Organization, managed by the president’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, participates in significant real estate developments in Saudi Arabia. Kushner also maintains substantial business relationships with the country. Kushner’s investment company, Affinity Partners, has secured billions in funding from Saudi Arabia.