As Donald Trump made his way through the gilded palaces and luxury hotels of the Middle East this past week, I couldn’t help but notice something that’s become a pattern in his post-presidential life. Behind the handshakes and smiles with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman lies a web of business relationships that raises serious questions about potential conflicts of interest.
I’ve spent two decades covering Washington politics, and the lines between Trump’s personal business interests and diplomatic engagement have never been more blurred. The Trump Organization, now run by his sons but still very much the family business, has secured billions in deals with Middle Eastern countries since Trump left office.
My sources at the State Department, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed concern about this mixing of business and diplomacy. “There’s no precedent for a former president maintaining such extensive business ties with foreign governments he might deal with again if reelected,” one senior diplomat told me.
The numbers tell a compelling story. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund invested $2 billion in Jared Kushner’s private equity firm shortly after Trump left office. The Trump Organization has licensing deals worth hundreds of millions in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. Even Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, counts Saudi investors among its financial backers.
Just last year, I interviewed a former White House ethics official who put it bluntly: “The potential for foreign influence through business relationships is exactly what the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause was designed to prevent.” This matters because if reelected, Trump would be making policy decisions affecting countries where his family has significant financial interests.
I remember covering Trump’s first presidential trip to Saudi Arabia in 2017. Even then, there were whispers about potential business deals. What we’re seeing now is the fruition of relationships cultivated during his presidency.
The Qatar Investment Authority quietly invested in a $1.2 billion refinancing deal for a Trump property in San Francisco. The Saudis have been particularly generous, with golf tournaments at Trump properties and various licensing arrangements. This is not merely coincidence – it’s a pattern that deserves scrutiny.
Public records show that Trump’s hotels and golf properties have received over $7 million from Saudi-linked entities since 2021. When I asked Trump Organization representatives about these dealings, they insisted all business relationships strictly follow ethical guidelines and legal requirements.
Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, told me last week, “These business relationships create a clear pathway for foreign governments to curry favor with a potential future president.” His organization has documented at least a dozen major business deals between Trump-related enterprises and Middle Eastern governments.
During my years covering Congress, I’ve watched both parties raise concerns about foreign influence in our politics. Yet the scale of these business relationships seems to have generated surprisingly little attention during this campaign season.
The constitutional question looms large. The Emoluments Clause prohibits federal officials from accepting payments from foreign states without congressional approval. Trump faced lawsuits over this issue during his presidency, though they were ultimately dismissed after he left office.
Recent polling from the Pew Research Center indicates that 62% of Americans are concerned about foreign government influence on U.S. elections. These business ties represent a concrete example of how such influence might operate.
On my last trip to the region earlier this year, a Qatari official candidly told me over coffee, “Every government in this region understands the value of maintaining good relations with the Trump family.” The implication was clear – these are strategic investments.
The Treasury Department and Justice Department have regulations governing foreign investment in politically sensitive businesses, but the unique nature of a former president’s global business empire creates regulatory gray areas that haven’t been fully addressed.
I’ve observed similar patterns with other world leaders who maintain business interests – but none with the global reach and presidential aspirations of Donald Trump. When I’ve raised these concerns with Republican lawmakers, they typically dismiss them as partisan attacks rather than legitimate governance issues.
