Trump’s Gulf Game  

By Jake Turx, Riyadh

If the Gulf states were to hold a popularity contest, Donald Trump would win the trophy. As his four-day visit showcased the opulence of the region’s richest oil states, just how much of that wealth are they willing to invest in a global deal that will advance everyone’s agendas? As I teamed up with the White House Press Corps and did a bit of polling on my own, it seemed pretty clear: When it comes to signing up with the US, the Gulf states are first in line

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 

Khaled is more than just a taxi driver; he’s about to become my first impression of Saudi Arabia. He’s waiting for me just outside the automatic customs doors of Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, radiating the quiet confidence of a man who’s been standing in that same spot since sunrise, though I’ll never know how long he’s actually been there. I like a hustler who doesn’t speak my language. We settle into his white minivan as I realize it’s a casual 104 degrees outside and still climbing.

There are English signs everywhere, but Khaled speaks maybe five words of it and doesn’t seem like he reads a word. And so, I punch the hotel address into his GPS, and off we go.

Within moments, and in doing my due diligence as a press corps colleague ahead of the US presidential visit, I hit him with the philosophical icebreaker of the decade: “What do you think of Trump?”