✔️“These are conflicts on a scale that we’ve never seen before in American history,” says NYT reporter Eric Lipton.
☑️As President Donald Trump meets with leaders in the Middle East this week, we look at how his administration and family have opened wide to foreign powers and wealthy interests willing to spend big to gain influence.
🔥Top buyers of Trump’s novelty $TRUMP cryptocurrency have spent millions as part of a contest to have dinner with the president.
⏰Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric have also signed a number of deals around the world, trading on the family’s name and influence, and son-in-law Jared Kushner has taken in billions in investment from Gulf states.
✔️“There’s very little restraint at the moment,” says New York Times investigative reporter Eric Lipton, who is tracking the deals. “They’re just pursuing as many profitable deals as they can find.”
☑️“Trump Heads to the Middle East With a Single Goal: Deals, Deals, Deals.” That’s the headline of a New York Times piece our next guest contributed to as he follows the dealings of the Trump administration.
🔥Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Eric Lipton. Well, why don’t you start there? We’re looking at this first major international trip President Trump is taking, first stop Riyadh.
✔️We’re looking at the line of American CEOs and others who are shaking the hands of Mohammed bin Salman and President Trump, very prominently, of course, the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, the Trump ally.
🔥If you can talk about who is behind the trip — you can talk about the advising of Jared Kushner, his son-in-law — and what all of them, and who we aren’t seeing right now, Eric and Donald Trump, have to gain?
