Donald Trump Jr. mocks
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Donald Trump Jr. on Wednesday mocked protesters at “No Kings” rallies across the United States and praised his father’s business-first approach to the Middle East during a visit to Saudi Arabia.
Trump spoke to business leaders and Saudi officials at the Future Investment Initiative, the brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who feted President Donald Trump during his Middle East tour in May to the kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Fayez Nureldine/News via Getty Images
Trump backed the prince during his first term even after the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi officials at the kingdom’s consulate in Türkiye. Prince Mohammed is also planning a trip to Washington next month.
Speaking alongside 1789 Capital’s Omeed Malik, Donald Trump Jr. criticized Democratic Party policies and protesters targeting his father. Trump invests in 1789 and continues to work at the family’s real estate arm, the Trump Organization, which has expanded its offerings in the Middle East even as his father serves his second term in the White House.
In particular, Trump mocked the “No Kings” protests that drew tens of thousands of people to rallies across the United States, claiming that “it was not an organic movement, but is entirely manufactured and paid for by the usual puppets around the world and their” groups.
“If my father was king, he probably wouldn’t have allowed those protests to happen,” he said. “You saw the people who were actually protesting: they’re the same crazy liberals from the ’60s and ’70s, only they’re much older and fatter.”
AP Photo/Olga Fedorova
Trump made the comments during a visit to a nation ruled by an absolute monarchy where dissent is criminalized.
The “No Kings” protests, the third mass mobilization since his father’s return to the White House, came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that is testing the central balance of power in the United States in a way that protest organizers warn is a slide toward authoritarianism.
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Trump separately acknowledged it was his first trip to Saudi Arabia and praised the changes he saw in the kingdom.
“When my father came here, unlike the last presidents who visited here, it was not an apology tour,” Trump said. “The question was: ‘How do we work together? How do we grow our respective economies? How do we create peace and stability in the region?'”
“There may be an ‘America first’ component, but there may also be an ‘Arabia first’ component and everyone can benefit,” he added.