Trump welcomes Saudi’s crown prince to White House, with Ronaldo also due to attend – live updates

A warm welcome awaits the Saudi crown princepublished at 16:00 GMT

16:00 GMT

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Donald Trump’s first international trip of his first term was to Saudi Arabia. His first full foreign trip of his second term began in Saudi Arabia.

Great Britain may have a historical claim to the term “special relationship” when it comes to the US, but it’s clear that Trump’s connection to Saudi Arabia – politically, financially and personally – is anything but ordinary.

During his trip to Riyadh earlier this year, the Saudis promised more than $600bn (£456bn) in US investments. More could be on the way following Mohammed bin Salman’s visit – his first to the US since the Saudis were implicated in the 2018 murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi.

That episode appears to be ancient history, at least for Trump.

The US president has offered the Saudis access to state-of-the-art US military hardware, including F-35 fighter jets. He has made Saudi Arabia a key player in his Middle East peace plan, even if the kingdom has yet to sign on to his Abraham Accords pact and normalised relations with Israel.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has had a steady stream of foreign leaders seeking to curry his favour, with varying levels of success. Few will have received the kind of warm greeting that awaits the Saudi crown prince, however.