AILSA CHANG, HOST:
President Trump just ended a four-day whirlwind trip to the Middle East, and he was greeted like royalty. From parades of camels to sparkling palaces, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates set out to impress the U.S. president, and they did. Joining us now to talk about the president's trip is NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro. Hi, Domenico.
DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Hey there, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, so what did you think President Trump got out of this trip?
MONTANARO: Well, Trump said that this was all about deals, deals involving money and investments for the United States. Everywhere he went, seemingly, there was another multibillion dollar agreement, you know, whether...
CHANG: Yeah.
MONTANARO: ...It was arms or energy deals, an investment in artificial intelligence or planes, bought and given.
CHANG: Yeah, can we talk about the plane? - because it dominated so much of this trip. I'm talking about the $400 million 747 that Qatar gifted the president, right? So much drama around this trip (ph). Tell us more.
MONTANARO: Yeah, it really overshadowed the entire trip. You know, Trump wants this, quote, "flying palace" to replace the aging Air Force One. That's despite already having ordered new ones being made by Boeing, but the president has grown frustrated with how long it's taking. And frankly, I just think he really likes the plane. Nine bathrooms, swanky lounge areas - sounds pretty nice.
CHANG: Not too shabby, I guess. But this stoked a huge amount of controversy, right?
MONTANARO: And for good reason. Ethics watchdogs see this as corruption and a clear violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution barring the taking of such gifts. Plus it's not even a gift for future presidents because Trump says he's going to take it and put it in his presidential library when his term is done. Members of his own party have raised concerns, too, especially related to security and saying that they don't trust the Qataris. One Republican senator even likened it to the Greek Trojan horse. For others, it rubs the the wrong way because it's coming at a time when the president's approval ratings have hit a low, and Trump's asking Americans for austerity when it comes to how many dolls or pencils to buy kids because of his trade wars. And yet, he says he's - he'd be stupid not to accept a $400 million plane for free.
CHANG: Well, OK, big picture here, Domenico, how was this trip to the Middle East different from those of past presidents, you think?
MONTANARO: Yeah, I mean, incredibly so. You know, Trump made a major pivot away from U.S. moral leadership and toward the transactional. Here he was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, critical of the West.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And it's crucial for the wider world to note, this great transformation has not come from Western interventionalists (ph) or flying people in beautiful planes giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs. No, the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation builders, neocons or liberal nonprofits.
MONTANARO: Yeah, well, Trump's description there of the Middle East, how it attained its wealth, was really pretty reductive and simplistic - ignored human rights issues, the rights of women, suppression of dissent, free and fair elections. For Trump, none of that is really important. Unlike past presidents, he doesn't see it as necessary or important for the U.S. to stand on principle and evangelize democracy. Instead, it's all about money, how to make it, how to take it.
CHANG: That said, Trump couldn't completely avoid the major international issues, right? Like, what was your takeaway from how he addressed things like the wars in Gaza or in Ukraine?
MONTANARO: Yeah, Trump again floated the idea of the U.S. taking over Gaza, but hearing from Gulf state leaders, he also acknowledged the suffering among Palestinians, though he didn't have specific remedies, and who knows what he's going to do going forward. Ukraine matters on this trip because delegations from Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia were meeting today in Turkey. But while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was there, Russian President Vladimir Putin was a no-show. In fact, Russia sent a very junior-level diplomatic delegation. You have to wonder how long Trump is going to have patience with Putin while he continues to try and advance in Ukraine. The fact is, Trump made a lot of big promises during the campaign about ending the wars in Gaza and Ukraine but has not been able to deliver. He's running into some big personalities with Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, so far, are not bending to Trump's will.
CHANG: That is NPR's Domenico Montanaro. Thank you, Domenico.
MONTANARO: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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