Fact-checking Trump’s claim his family has done ‘little’ business with Saudi Arabia : NPR

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

A visit by the Saudi crown prince to Washington this week has generated billions of dollars in trade deals between Saudi Arabia and the United States. President Trump has sought to maintain business ties with the kingdom since his first term, but it is sometimes unclear whether this benefits the United States or his family business. For more, I’m joined by Dan Alexander. He is an editor at Forbes, where he covers billionaires. Dan, hello and thanks for being on the program.

DAN ALEXANDRE: Hey. Thank you for having me.

FADEL: So this week, while the crown prince was in Washington, Trump said his family had done, quote, “very little,” quote, business in Saudi Arabia. Is this statement true?

ALEXANDER: No, that’s not true. If you look at the Trump Organization, you know, it’s divided into different parts, and in many of those parts, Saudi Arabia is involved to some extent. First of all, if you look at the real estate licensing empire, that’s sort of the part of the business that puts Trump’s name on buildings all over the world. Much of the growth in this business has come from a Saudi company called DarGlobal. They paid him about $21 million last year. It looks like they’re going to pay him at least that much this year, and rumors are swirling about other deals to come. It’s an element.

Then you have the golf industry. It had lost the ability to attract major professional golf tournaments after January 6. The PGA Tour and the Royal and Ancient, which oversees the British Open, have both basically said, hey, we’re done with this for now. Enter LIV Golf, backed by the Saudi government. LIV Golf is starting to organize more of its tournaments – they have already organized seven; there will be an eighth next year – at Trump properties. It provides money to the Trump Organization, but, more importantly, it brings relevance to that part of the business.

FADEL: Has Trump’s family business benefited from his political connections as president with Saudi Arabia?

ALEXANDER: If you look at the totality of the facts, it’s hard to argue that that’s not the case. I mean, the Trump Organization, without any political aspects these days – do you really think Trump is going to do, you know, tens of millions of dollars of business in Saudi Arabia? If you compare it to politics before, you know, they were scrambling to get their hands on just a few million dollars in random countries around the world. If you look at countries where activity is growing, there’s a lot of overlap with countries that view the Trump administration as being very important to its goals, and that’s true in the Middle East.

FADEL: Do the Trump family’s financial ties to the kingdom have any benefits for the American public? I mean, is it just about the bottom line for his companies, or could it be more beneficial for the country?

ALEXANDER: Well, Jared Kushner, who has invested $2 billion in his private equity with the Saudi government, says this kind of intersection of business and government relationships can be beneficial. Because when they’re faced with major problems – for example, trying to make a peace deal in Gaza – he can call all these leaders that he knows in the business world and with whom he also has government relations. So you could make that argument. Of course, many people in the ethics community would say: wait a second. All of this means we don’t know where your alliances are or what motives drive you. Whereas, generally, we can be sure that American politicians act only in the interest of the American people.

FADEL: Because you don’t know if it’s about money or the interests of the country.

ALEXANDER: Yeah. We know it’s about money. We don’t know who owns the money. Is this money for the American public? In other words, are they just investing heavily in the United States, and that’s a good thing? Or are they also investing heavily in the Trump family’s projects?

FADEL: And very quickly, I mean, who do you think is the biggest – the biggest winner after this week’s meeting – Saudi Arabia or the United States?

ALEXANDER: In the short term, it seems like they both have something to gain. Saudi Arabia is somehow regaining its prominence after losing much of the world following the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The United States receives a lot of money. The question is: will China win too? Saudi Arabia maintains relations with China. If they get too comfortable and the United States gets a little too loose with some of these things, you could see American technology making its way to China.

FADEL: Dan Alexander is an editor for Forbes. He wrote the book “White House, Inc.: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency into a Business.” Thank you for your time.

ALEXANDER: Thank you.

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