Post By : 2025-05-21"

Did Trump really strike Gulf deals worth $2tn?"

Trump started the four-day visit in Saudi Arabia where deals worth $600bn were announced

Flying home from his Gulf trip last week, President Donald Trump told reporters "that was a great four days, historic four days".

Visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he added in this trademark swagger that "the jobs and money coming into our countries, there has never been anything like it".

Trump claimed that he was able to secure deals totalling more than $2tn (£1.5tn) for the US, but do the numbers add up?

The trip itself was an extravaganza, with the three Gulf states pulling out all the stops.

Escorts of fighter jets, extravagant welcoming ceremonies, a thundering 21-gun salute, a fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks, royal camels, Arabian horses, and sword dancers were all part of the pageantry.

The UAE also awarded Mr Trump the country's highest civilian honour, the Order of Zayed.

The visit's optics were striking; the region's richest petrostates flaunted their opulence, revealing just how much of that fortune they were ready to deploy to strengthen ties with the US while advancing their own economic goals.