After his visit to the Kingdom in May, Donald Trump decided to back the Saudi-led blockade of tiny Qatar (2015 population 2.235 million, but just 313,000 citizens) imposed less than a month later.
The siege was also joined by Bahrain, Doha, the Maldives, the UAE – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. It was quickly pointed out that:
(The) US President has long history of lucrative investment deals with Saudi Arabia but few ties to the small Gulf nation.
Trump’s financial bounties from Saudi “… includes the purchase of tens of millions of dollars in Trump’s real estate properties by wealthy Saudis over the years.”
Moreover:
In 1995, when Trump was struggling to make payments on one of his most important New York properties, the landmark Plaza Hotel, it was (Saudi) Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who came to his rescue … In 1991, bin Talal also bought a huge (282-foot) yacht, the Trump Princess, from creditors at a time when Trump’s other big venture, the Atlantic City casinos, were under pressure.
In fact, it was far more than mere “pressure.” In July 1991 the Trump corporation-owned Taj-Mahal casino, the world’s largest, filed for bankruptcy.
So, seemingly keen to back up benefactors and apparently unknowing and uncaring of even major regional complexities, it is unlikely Donald Trump had camels on his mind.
Ironically the stated reason for the potentially crippling embargo – Qatar imports almost…