In mid-May 2025, a widely shared meme claimed former U.S. President Bill Clinton received a $17 million helicopter from Saudi Arabia at

Videos of President Donald Trump at a meeting in Saudi Arabia appear to suggest that he fell asleep, though his eyes were only closed for a few seconds. Trump arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after a 15-hour flight for a four-day tour of the Middle East.

President Donald Trump praised Saudi Arabia's prince during a meeting on Tuesday, years after a U.S. intelligence report stated that the prince ordered a journalist's death.

Saudi Arabia is of key diplomatic importance to the Trump White House, especially amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Former White House chief of staff and Democratic politician Rahm Emanuel says he turned down bribes from the Saudi government while traveling to the country on a state visit with then President

Trump met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and attended a US-Saudi investment forum along with Elon Musk and other top CEOs.

The announcements follow reports that the US administration intends to facilitate AI chip deals between American firms and Gulf nations.

Trump hopes to restart his first-term effort to normalize relations between the Middle East's major powers, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump's Abraham Accords effort led to Sudan, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel.

The kingdom is not the only Gulf Arab state to be accused of abusing migrant laborers in the run-up to a World Cup. Rights groups also criticized Qatar, which hosted the competition in 2022, saying they tallied thousands of unexplained worker deaths.