Trump’s Profits and Blood Money: How Saudi Arabia and Qatar Silence and Imprison Critics, Oppress Women, Fund Terrorism, Punish LGBTQ People, and Muzzle the Press
Quick Summary
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are brutal regimes that jail dissidents, oppress women, criminalize LGBTQ people, and silence journalists, sometimes with a bone saw. Instead of holding these autocratic rulers accountable for murder, corruption, and human rights abuses, Trump is lining his pockets with their money, cutting business deals and interested in accepting lavish gifts like a $400 million jet from Qatar.
This is a shakedown of American values, a betrayal of our Constitution, and a green light for dictators to keep crushing their own people. Trump shouldn’t be cozying up to these tyrants, he should be using America’s power to demand real change.
Trump’s Saudi Love Affair: Protecting a Murderous Regime While Cashing In on American Values
Let’s not mince words: Saudi Arabia is an authoritarian regime with one of the worst human rights records on the planet. This is a country where dissent is a crime. Criticize the royal family or the government and you could end up in prison – or worse, on an executioner’s list.
Women in Saudi Arabia have lived as second-class citizens for generations under a draconian male guardianship system. Until a few years ago, a Saudi woman couldn’t even drive a car or travel without a man’s permission. Even now, many basic decisions like marriage, certain jobs, passing on citizenship to your children, require male approval.
Being gay in Saudi Arabia is literally a crime punishable by death. Public beheadings and flogging are not relics of some distant past; they’re part of the Saudi justice system today. And if all that isn’t disturbing enough, let’s recall Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist and U.S. resident who walked into a Saudi consulate in 2018 and never walked out. He was murdered and dismembered with a bone saw by agents of the Saudi government, in an operation our own intelligence agencies concluded was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This is the regime that Donald Trump proudly counts among his closest international friends.
How did Trump respond to Khashoggi’s brutal murder? As an American, you might hope our president would champion justice for a journalist assassinated for speaking truth. Instead, Trump acted as Saudi Arabia’s PR agent and protector. He downplayed the killing, cast doubt on Saudi culpability, and brazenly prioritized Saudi money over American moral leadership. In private, Trump bragged that he “saved Mohammed bin Salman’s ass,” boasting about how he shielded the Saudi crown prince from congressional outrage. Think about that for a second: the President of the United States bragging that he helped a foreign dictator get away with murder.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Trump vetoed bipartisan efforts in Congress to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia as punishment for Khashoggi’s death and for the Saudis’ horrific war in Yemen (which has killed thousands of civilians). Why? He flat-out said it was because the Saudis were spending billions on American weapons and investments. In Trump’s view, money talks and human rights take a walk.
Morality was for sale, and the price tag was Saudi cash. I don’t know about you, but as a lawyer who cherishes the rule of law, this makes me furious. Our president sided with a killer prince over an American resident journalist, essentially telling the world that American values are up for auction.
The Dark Reality Behind Qatar’s Glamour: Human Rights Abuses, LGBTQ Persecution, and Trump’s Business Deals
Now let’s talk about Qatar, the other regime in this troubling equation. Qatar may be smaller than Saudi Arabia, but it’s also a rich autocracy with a dismal record. This is a country ruled by an emir who inherited power from his father – there’s no democracy there to speak of.
On the surface, Qatar tries to present itself as a modern, progressive hub (after all, it hosted the 2022 World Cup and invites Western universities to set up campuses). But scratch that glossy surface and you’ll find serious problems. In Qatar, women face deep discrimination too – a male guardianship system (not unlike Saudi’s) restricts women’s ability to make independent decisions about marriage, travel, and their own children’s lives.
Qatar only abolished its archaic exit visa system for most workers recently, and reports show women still need permission from male guardians for many basic choices. LGBTQ people in Qatar live in fear. Same-sex relationships are criminalized; simply being gay or transgender can land you in jail. During the World Cup, the Qatari authorities made it abundantly clear that rainbow flags and open support for LGBTQ rights were not welcome – fans and even players were warned to toe the line, and some who spoke up faced harassment or arrest.
And let’s not overlook Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers, perhaps the country’s darkest open secret. Millions of migrant laborers from poorer countries built Qatar’s glittering skyscrapers and stadiums. They often worked in scorching heat, with their passports confiscated, living in squalid camps, underpaid or not paid at all for months. By some estimates, thousands of these workers died over the years in work-related incidents as Qatar prepared for its World Cup party. That shiny new stadium was baptized in sweat and blood. This is the real Qatar behind the PR: an absolute monarchy where basic freedoms are denied and human beings are treated as disposable if they don’t fit the ruling family’s agenda.
Trump’s Middle East Business Ties Have More Than Tripled Since His First Term
These are the regimes Donald Trump is snuggling up to. Now, one might ask: why would an American president, who claims to put “America First,” be so infatuated with Saudi princes and Qatari emirs? The answer, unsurprisingly Trump’s favorite combination, money and power. Trump adores anyone who showers him with praise and expensive gifts, and these regimes have figured that out. They aren’t courting Trump because they enjoy his personality; they’re doing it because it buys them influence. And Trump, never one to turn down a deal, has been more than happy to oblige.
Consider Trump’s flip-flopping on Qatar. Early in his presidency, Trump actually blasted Qatar, echoing accusations from Saudi Arabia and others that Qatar was funding terrorism. In 2017, when Saudi Arabia and the UAE blockaded Qatar and accused it of aiding extremists, Trump initially cheered the move. But fast-forward a year or two, and suddenly Trump’s tune changed, he was calling Qatar a “great friend” and welcoming its emir to the White House with a warm smile.
What changed? Well, behind the scenes, Qatar was busy wielding the one language Trump understands: cash. They started spending big at the Trump International Hotel in D.C. They also, critically, helped bail out a financially troubled Manhattan skyscraper owned by Jared Kushner (Trump’s son-in-law). A Qatari-backed investment fund came through with a sweetheart deal on a building that Kushner’s family desperately needed to refinance. Lo and behold, Trump’s harsh talk about Qatar vanished. Money talks.
Now in 2025, Trump’s relationship with Qatar has gone from cordial to full-on bear hug. The Qatari government has literally offered to hand Trump $400 million private jet as a “gift,” and Trump crowed that only a fool would refuse it. Let’s be clear: that’s not a gift, it’s a bribe in everything but name. And taking it isn’t just unseemly, it’s unconstitutional. This is where my lawyer alarm bells go off.
The U.S. Constitution’s Emoluments Clause exists for exactly this reason: to stop our leaders from being bought by foreign governments. The framers of our Constitution were wise enough to foresee that kings and princes (like those in Saudi and Qatar) would try to influence the American Republic by lavishing gifts or money on our officials. So they made it illegal, flat-out forbidden, for any U.S. president or federal office-holder to accept “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever” from a foreign state (unless Congress explicitly consents). That is literally written into Article I, Section 9 of our Constitution. And for over two centuries, this was largely a non-issue because no president dared to blatantly defy it.
Then Donald Trump came along. During his first term, we saw him doing end-runs around the Emoluments Clause. Foreign governments booked luxury suites at his hotels, bought tons of his real estate, and showered his businesses with payments while he was in office. He claimed it was all fine because the money was going to his company, not directly to him (as if that makes a difference when he owns the company!). Now it’s even worse: he’s openly interested in accepting a gift like a custom jumbo jet from Qatar’s royal family. This is exactly the kind of scheme the Founding Fathers had nightmares about. It’s not just unethical; it’s illegal and un-American to the core.
It doesn’t stop at planes and hotels, either. The Trump family’s business dealings with Saudi Arabia and Qatar are exploding in 2025. Trump is back in the White House, and guess what, his family is busy cutting deals with those same regimes right under our noses.
They’ve inked a deal to build a fancy new golf resort in Qatar in partnership with Qatari Diar, which is essentially Qatar’s state-owned real estate company (read: the Qatari government’s money). The Trumps are also embarking on two new luxury real estate projects in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, with a development firm that’s backed by the Saudi regime. They’re planning Trump-branded towers in Riyadh and even expanding into Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and into Oman next door.
Think about that: the President of the United States is actively doing multimillion-dollar real estate developments with and in countries he’s supposed to be impartially dealing with on behalf of the American people. How is that not a screaming conflict of interest? Saudi Arabia and Qatar aren’t investing in Trump’s businesses because his name looks pretty on a building; they’re doing it to own a piece of him. To have the U.S. president financially beholden to them. It’s the foreign policy equivalent of a mafia payoff and they’re the dons slipping envelopes of cash into the Trump family’s pockets, and in return they expect loyalty.
We also see this troubling nexus in other ventures. Ever hear of LIV Golf? It’s a professional golf tour bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Over the last couple of years, LIV Golf has cozied up to Trump by holding lavish tournaments at Trump-owned golf courses like his Doral resort in Florida and his Bedminster course in New Jersey. Those events funneled millions into Trump’s coffers.
This isn’t a coincidence; it’s part of Saudi Arabia’s strategy to curry favor and whitewash its image by partnering with a former (and now current) U.S. president’s private business. Saudi money is literally propping up Trump’s failing golf properties. And Trump, in turn, has heaped praise on the Saudis’ golf venture, even as it undermines the PGA Tour. The pattern is clear: if you pay Trump, he will sing your praises and do your bidding, whether it’s sports or statecraft.
And just when you think this picture couldn’t get more twisted, along comes the shiny new buzzword: crypto. Yes, the Trump family has jumped on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, and surprise, surprise – the Middle East autocrats are along for that ride too.
Trump’s sons have launched a Trump-branded financial venture dealing in cryptocurrency (because of course they did). They even showed up at a cryptocurrency conference in Dubai recently to hawk their new “World Liberty” stablecoin (because nothing says liberty like partnering with dictators, right?). And guess who immediately stepped in to validate TrumpCoin? A state-owned investment firm in Abu Dhabi (part of the UAE’s royal family’s business empire) announced a plan to use the Trump family’s coin in a $2 billion investment deal.
Essentially, the Trumps are trying to mint their own money, and Gulf regimes are signing up to help make it a success. It’s surreal, a sitting U.S. president’s family creating a crypto coin and getting autocratic governments to boost it. It feels like fiction, but it’s real. This is a whole new level of entanglement: not only are these regimes showering Trump with money through hotels, golf, and real estate, now they’re potentially tying their economies (and our financial system) to a currency controlled by Trump’s family. If that doesn’t scream conflict and risk, I don’t know what does.
Why Every American Must Pay Attention
By now you might be asking, why does all this matter to the average American? Sure, it’s unsavory, you might think, but does it really affect you and me? The answer is an emphatic yes, it does.
When an American president, Republican or Democrat, it doesn’t matter, is in hock to foreign authoritarians, American interests suffer. Our foreign policy can be warped in ways that make the world more dangerous for us. For example, if Saudi Arabia decides to ramp up a war that destabilizes the Middle East, will Trump stand up to them to protect regional stability (and by extension American security)? Or will he give them a free pass because his family bank balance depends on Saudi goodwill?
We’ve already seen how Trump turned a blind eye to Saudi atrocities like the bombing of civilians in Yemen and the murder of Khashoggi. What if tomorrow Saudi Arabia or Qatar does something that directly or indirectly harms Americans – say, funding proxy militias that end up targeting U.S. troops or allies? Can we trust Trump to put our safety first when he’s so financially intertwined with those governments? Sadly, we cannot.
This cozying up also undermines America’s moral standing and global leadership, which has very real consequences for us at home. The United States has long (if imperfectly) stood for values like freedom, democracy, and human rights. That reputation is a powerful tool, it helps us build alliances, deter bad actors, and promote a more stable and just world. When the president is praising despots and dismissing their crimes, our credibility evaporates.
Why would any country listen when we urge them to free political prisoners or hold fair elections, if our own leader is cashing checks from dictators? It’s rank hypocrisy, and the world sees it. Our allies lose trust in us. Our adversaries become emboldened, sensing that America talks big about liberty but will sell out for the right price. And guess what – when dictators around the world feel emboldened, they crack down even harder on their people, crises multiply, wars break out, and inevitably American soldiers end up in harm’s way or American economies get rattled by global instability. It’s all connected. You can’t untangle a corrupt foreign policy from domestic impact. When Trump sells out American values abroad, he’s endangering American lives and livelihoods too.
Let’s bring this down to a very human level. Imagine you’re a dissident or an ordinary citizen in Saudi Arabia or Qatar who dreams of basic freedoms. Maybe you’re a Saudi woman who wants to speak out for the right to live an equal life, or a Qatari LGBTQ teen just hoping to live without fear, or a journalist trying to tell the truth about those regimes. You used to look to the United States as a beacon of hope, a champion (at least in words) of the rights you are denied. Now imagine seeing the President of the United States literally hugging and grinning with the very prince or emir responsible for your oppression. Imagine hearing that this U.S. President is making money from the people who make you suffer. How betrayed would you feel? How abandoned?
That’s what’s at stake here – the hopes of people fighting for freedom around the world. And beyond empathy, consider the message it sends back home to Americans. If Trump admires how these rulers can jail opponents, muzzle the press, and ignore the rule of law, what’s to stop him from getting dangerous ideas? We already know Trump has an authoritarian streak, he’s praised leaders like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, and of course the Saudi royals, expressing envy at the “strength” they have to rule for life or crush dissent. When he pals around with despots, he’s normalizing their behavior, maybe even learning from it. That is a direct threat to our own democracy.
A second Trump presidency (now underway) has fewer checks on his impulses than the first. Surrounded by yes-men and flush with foreign cash, who’s to say he won’t try to import some of that strongman style to America? January 6th gave us a horrific preview of what happens when a leader disregards the rule of law. We cannot be naïve and assume “It can’t happen here.” It can, if we let our guard down and allow corruption and autocracy to seep in through the back door of financial influence.
Trump’s message is clear: if you line his pockets, he’ll let you get away with just about anything. That should alarm every American, whether you’re liberal, conservative, or anything in between. This isn’t how our Republic is supposed to work. We fought a war of independence in part to escape the clutches of foreign monarchs and their interference. Two centuries later, we have a president inviting foreign monarchs to interfere by entangling himself with them financially. It’s beyond unacceptable, it’s a betrayal of who we are.
I’m Disgusted: Trump’s Cash-Grab Presidency Is Selling Out America and Shredding Our Democracy
I speak in the voice of a concerned lawyer, but also simply as a citizen who loves my country. And I will say this plainly: I am disgusted. I am disgusted that we have a President who fawns over dictators and admires their “strength” while ignoring their cruelty. I am disgusted that profits matter more to him than principles. I am disgusted that our beautiful Constitution, which every president swears to uphold, is being treated like a doormat.
Trump has stomped all over the Emoluments Clause and laughed about it. He’s treating the presidency like a franchise opportunity, selling the brand to anyone who will pay. This is not normal. It is not okay. It cannot be shrugged off. If we allow this kind of behavior to continue, we are accepting the slow death of accountability and integrity in our highest office.
Today it’s Trump, but if this sets a precedent, tomorrow it could be someone else, and eventually, America as we know it will cease to exist, replaced by a shell government serving the interests of a few rich men here and abroad. That may sound dramatic, but this is exactly how democracies fall: not always with tanks in the streets, but with insidious corruption and erosion from within.
So What Happens Next?
The question now is, what can we do about it? It’s easy to feel helpless or cynical, but we absolutely are not helpless. As Americans, we have both the right and the duty to act when we see our leaders endangering the country’s foundations.
First and foremost, we need to raise our voices, loud and clear. Talk about this with your friends and family. A lot of people don’t even know these things are happening; it’s our job to inform each other. Share the simple truth that no leader can serve two masters: if Trump is serving the interests of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to line his pockets, he cannot be truly serving the interests of the United States.
Make it plain: a president on a foreign payroll is a national security threat. That’s a soundbite anyone can understand. Use it. Ask the Trump supporters you know if they would be okay with a President Biden or anyone else taking millions from, say, China or Iran? Of course they wouldn’t. So why accept it from Trump with Saudi and Qatar? This isn’t partisan; it’s about basic American sovereignty and honesty in government.
Next, we need our other leaders to step up. Congress, the courts, law enforcement – they all need to do their jobs. Congress in particular has been far too quiet on this. Every representative and senator, regardless of party, should be asked: What are you doing about the President taking foreign gifts and money? Press them. Write to them. Demand oversight and investigations.
The Emoluments Clause may not have a built-in enforcement mechanism, but Congress holds the power of impeachment and the purse. At minimum, we need public hearings, subpoenas for Trump Organization records, an accounting of what gifts and deals are being made. Shine sunlight on all of it. Justice Louis Brandeis once said, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” We need a lot of sunlight right now. And if laws need to be tightened, for example, requiring presidents to disclose business dealings or barring certain foreign contracts then we must push for that legislation.
Ultimately, the most powerful tool we have is our vote. If Trump and his enablers in Congress won’t change their ways, then we the people must change out the leaders. In our democracy, the buck actually stops with the voters. That means remembering this outrage when you step into the voting booth. Every candidate for every office should be pressed on where they stand regarding foreign influence and presidential corruption. And for goodness’ sake, in the next presidential election, regardless of party, vote for someone who won’t sell out America to the highest bidder. If that sounds like common sense, it is! Yet here we are, needing to say it.
Time is of the essence. American democracy is resilient, but it’s not indestructible. Each day that Trump cozies up to these regimes, we slip a little further down a very dangerous slope. We cannot afford apathy or fatigue. This is a fight, not a violent one, but a fight for the soul of our nation through civic action, organizing, speaking, and voting. We have to remember who we are: a nation founded on the idea that no king or foreign power should ever control our destiny. That idea is our heritage and our responsibility to protect.
In closing, I want to leave you with this thought: Our values mean nothing if we don’t defend them when they’re under attack. Right now, they are under an insidious attack, not by invading armies, but by the greed and ego of our own leader entwined with the schemes of foreign tyrants. This is a call to action for every American who believes in the rule of law, human rights, and honest government.
We need to hold the line. Speak out. Share the facts. Demand accountability. And most importantly, ensure that this great experiment in self-government endures. We owe it to Jamal Khashoggi. We owe it to every woman in Saudi Arabia and Qatar who dreams of equality, every LGBTQ person who lives in fear there. We owe it to the next generation of Americans who deserve to inherit a country that stands tall and free, not one pawned off to princes. We owe it to ourselves.
Mitch Jackson, Esq. | links
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Related – Saudi prince launches AI venture as Trump, Musk, Altman, and Zuckerberg arrive for the conference. Who the hell cares about human rights, terrorism, oppressed women, the press, and LGBTQ rights? Per Trump's lack of leadership, Americans aren’t setting the example anymore, they’re chasing the almighty dollar regardless of who gets hurt in the process. https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/12/saudi-prince-launches-ai-venture-as-trump-musk-altman-and-zuckerberg-arrive-for-conference/