Trump speaks to Saudi leader as trilateral deal resurfaces - report
The former U.S. president reportedly spoke to Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler, MBS, as 2024 elections heat up and while the Biden administration pushes for an important regional agreement
Following an in-person meeting with a European leader, former U.S. President Donald Trump spoke recently with a Gulf state leader, according to The New York Times.
The involvement in foreign affairs by Trump came as the 2024 Elections began to heat up in a rematch with incumbent President Joe Biden, currently involved with significant negotiations in the Gulf region.
According to the NYT report, citing two sources, Trump spoke with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). The conversation was described as "their first publicly disclosed conversation" since the former U.S. president left office in January 2021.
The report, however, was scant on details of the conversation, only saying that the two sources were "briefed on the discussion" but were not authorized to speak publicly about it. Representatives from either party, Trump or MBS, had not been able to comment.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration were pushing for what's been touted as an important deal in trilateral negotiations between the Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United States, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently estimated as "getting closer."
This latest conversation with a world leader, followed a visit by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, who later touted the presumptive Republican nominee as a leader who was "respected and can bring peace."