What happened
President Donald Trump Monday said the U.S. was going to sell stealth F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, one of several deals he plans to cement with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House this week. The de facto Saudi ruler is arriving today for his first U.S. visit since a 2018 goodwill tour that was undone months later by the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Who said what
“We’ll be selling F-35s” to Saudi Arabia, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The Saudis have “requested to buy as many as 48” of the advanced warplanes, Reuters said, and Trump’s agreement would “mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East,” where Israel is the only country with F-35s.
The U.S. has legally committed to giving Israel a “qualitative military edge” over other countries in the region. But the “looming deal” could also “reduce Washington’s leverage to encourage Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize relations,” a top Trump goal, The Wall Street Journal said. And it heightens “long-standing concern” in Washington that F-35 technology “could be stolen by or somehow transferred to China,” Saudi Arabia’s top trading partner, The Associated Press said.
What next?
The Khashoggi murder made the crown prince an “international pariah for a time,” The New York Times said. But “over the past few years, he has become too powerful for American politicians and chief executives to ignore,” and Trump “could hardly be more welcoming.” All the same, said Semafor’s Matthew Martin, “once the pomp and ceremony of this week’s visit has passed,” Prince Mohammed may struggle to ensure “all the goodwill he has built up in the Trump era survives into future administrations.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Pipe bombs: The end of a conspiracy theory?Feature Despite Bongino and Bondi’s attempt at truth-telling, the MAGAverse is still convinced the Deep State is responsible
-
The robot revolutionFeature Advances in tech and AI are producing android machine workers. What will that mean for humans?
-
Health: Will Kennedy dismantle U.S. immunization policy?Feature ‘America’s vaccine playbook is being rewritten by people who don’t believe in them’
-
Are Donald Trump’s peace deals unraveling?Today’s Big Question Violence flares where the president claimed success
-
‘City leaders must recognize its residents as part of its lifeblood’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem might not be long for TrumplandIN THE SPOTLIGHT She has been one of the most visible and vocal architects of Trump’s anti-immigration efforts, even as her own star risks fading
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Will there be peace before Christmas in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Discussions over the weekend could see a unified set of proposals from EU, UK and US to present to Moscow
-
‘The menu’s other highlights smack of the surreal’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
