The first is the President’s no-nonsense approach to business, Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Indiana) told American Family Radio.
The second is China and, more specifically, international trade.
Middle East leaders like Trump because they feel they can trust him, Stutzman told show host Jenna Ellis.
Many world leaders don’t see the same qualities in the Chinese government, and they see investment with the U.S., under Trump, as a real option.
Stutzman said his recent trip to Syria confirmed this view.
“I just was amazed just the feeling of traveling over in the Middle East, how much respect President Trump has,” Stutzman said.
Trump on Tuesday secured a $600 billion investment in U.S. defense weapons from Saudi Arabia which the White House says will strengthen energy security, defense, technology and access to global infrastructure and critical minerals.
The Saudis will receive war equipment from dozens of U.S. firms.
Trump on Wednesday announced that Qatar will invest more than $200 billion for an order of 160 planes from Boeing.
The President and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad al-Thani also agreed on a statement of intent for defense cooperation between their two countries, Reuters reported.
Diplomacy preferred but …
Trump used his speech in Saudi Arabia to address talks with Iran, saying he prefers a diplomatic route to solve the nuclear issue but also delivered a bold ultimatum to the mullahs in the process.
"I want to make a deal with Iran. I want to do something if possible. But for that to happen, it must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons. They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
If Iran does not comply it will face “massive maximum pressure,” he said.
World leaders believe Trump will do what he says, Stutzman said.
“If he offers you an olive branch, you may take it. If you don't, watch out, because President Trump is also the type that will bring the hammer down hard," the congressman warned. "And there will be consequences if you do what is not in the best interest of your own people, but of course, also for the best interest of the Middle East and America and our allies.”
Other countries aren’t getting that same vibe from China, and they see the recent tariff wars between the two world powers, though improved for a period of time at least, as a window of opportunity, Stutzman said.
“Other countries see an opportunity to do more trade with the United States. We are the largest economy in the world. China is obviously building fast, but at the same time, people don't like doing business with China because they cheat, and they steal, and they manipulate,” he said.
Also while in Syria, Trump met with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday, a day after he announced the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria. That move is expected to ease foreign investment and trade, helping Syria’s economy to recover from the devastation of civil war.
Trump’s announcement came before a previous U.S. list of 12 conditions for lifting sanctions were fully met.
Now Syria can have a “fresh start,” Trump said.
“It gives them a chance for greatness. The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful,” he said.
Syrians took to the streets to celebrate the news.
History can't be ignored
While Trump gains admirers in the Middle East, the past is always over his shoulder.
The 9-11 Commission Report issued in July 2004 concluded there was “no evidence” linking the Saudi government or its senior officials to the attacks on America.
However, the report did identify Saudi Arabia as the primary funding location for Al-Qaeda and noted that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens.
“There’s a long way to go with some of these countries in the Middle East,” Stutzman said.
Israel, though conspicuously absent from Trump’s schedule for this trip, remains a key part of the picture if business relationships are going to be able to prosper moving ahead.
“A lot of this goes back to Israel and to the United States. Things have to change in those countries on the religious front. They have to change on the political front. You cannot continue to kill your own people. You can't continue to have proxies in the Middle East to attack Israel, and you can't have any sort of hatred towards the United States. So, these all have to change,” Stutzman said.
Trump’s tariff hard ball opens a window
How that change plays out remains to be seen, but it appears for now there’s an opportunity for an increased relationship with the U.S. because of Trump’s hard stance with tariffs against China.
These economic agreements are about other nations pursuing the U.S., not the other way around.
“The whole tariff discussion allows for other countries to come to the United States and to come to President Trump and say, ‘look, we want to be friends with you because we know that the United States is going to be fair. We know that the United States is going to have an honest currency system, and that there's more trust for the United States than there is for China,” Stutzman said.
