The Grifter-in-Chief Goes to Qatar to Line His Pockets

US President Donald Trump heads to the Gulf this week on a visit aimed at reaching security and technology deals, with his own family’s business dealings not far from the spotlight.

Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, which have collectively promised to invest more than $2 trillion in the US since he came to office. In return, Gulf states want concessions on chip sales and nuclear cooperation, Semafor’s Mohammed Sergie wrote.

The Gulf is Trump’s “happy place” because its leaders won’t criticize him, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted. That is helpful, given controversies surrounding Qatar’s offered donation of a presidential jet and his family’s crypto dealings in the region.

https://www.semafor.com/article/05/11/2025/inside-the-qatari-luxury-jet-on-offer-to-president-donald-trump

Manila Times: Trump family Gulf empire grows

Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s Gulf visit next week, his son Eric was promoting his crypto firm in Dubai, while Don Jr. prepared to talk about “Monetizing MAGA” in Doha.

Last month, the Trump Organization struck its first luxury real estate deal in Qatar and released details of a billion-dollar skyscraper in Dubai whose apartments can be bought in cryptocurrency.

In a monarchical region awash with petrodollars, the list of Trump-related ventures is long and growing. However, the pres-idential entourage is not the only party cashing in, analysts say.

“Gulf governments likely see the presence of the Trump brand in their countries as a way to generate goodwill with the new administration,” said Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

If the president chose, he could hopscotch the region from one Trump venture to another when he visits Saudi Arabia, Qa-tar and the United Arab Emirates next week on the first foreign tour of his second term.

Asked whether Trump would make visits or meetings linked to his own business interests or that of his family, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “ridiculous” to “even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit” and that he had “lost money for being president.”

LOL! The only person in Washington, D.C., who tells more lies than King Donald is Bimbo #1 Karoline Leavitt.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/12/business/foreign-business/trump-family-gulf-empire-grows/2110755

NJ.com: Report: Trump double-dealing is about to reach new heights — literally

Turns out, the most corrupt presidency in American history is about to soar to even greater double-dealing heights.

What do you give to a president who already has enriched himself and his family by an average of $1 billion per month since taking office?

What could a guy — the most powerful man on the planet, who is planning 20 branded real estate projects around the globe — possibly want?

ABC News reports that Donald Trump — who told American families they’d have to cut back on dolls and pencils while accepting financial hardship for the good of the nation and his tariff-fueled ego — is about to accept a gift-wrapped $400 million “flying palace.”

In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar— a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement told ABC News.

The gift is expected to be announced next week, when Trump visits Qatar on the first foreign trip of his second term, according to sources familiar with the plans.

Trump toured the plane, which is so opulently configured it is known as “a flying palace,” while it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February.

One of those 20 planned international real estate developments includes golf course and residential project in Qatar, according to Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington.

https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/05/report-trump-corruption-is-about-to-reach-new-heights-literally.html

AOL: White House: ‘Ridiculous’ to think Trump doing anything for his own personal wealth

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt [Bimbo #1] said Friday it would be “ridiculous” to think President Trump is personally benefiting from his time at the White House, calling out reporters for questions about his family’s business ventures while in office.

Ahead of Trump’s trip to the Middle East next week, Leavitt [Bimbo #1] pushed back on questioning over whether any family members are joining him and if the president has any plans to meet with people involved with the family businesses while in the region.

“Not to my knowledge, and let me just get to the premise of your question that both of you have raised. I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit. He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service, not just once, but twice,” [Bimbo #1] said.

“A life of running a very successful real estate empire”: Does that include the loser’s SIX bankruptcies?

And his THIRTY FOUR convictions on felony counts of falsified business records?

Dumb doesn’t come much dumber than Bimbo #1 Karoline Leavitt!

https://www.aol.com/white-house-ridiculous-think-trump-182511250.html

Axios: Israel plans to occupy and flatten all of Gaza if no deal by Trump’s trip

Israel has set President Trump’s visit to the Middle East next week as a deadline for a new hostage and ceasefire deal, with a massive ground operation to commence if no deal is reached, Israeli officials say.

Why it matters: Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan Sunday night to gradually reoccupy all of Gaza and hold it indefinitely if no deal is reached by May 15. Plans for the operation call for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to flatten any buildings that remain standing and displace virtually the entire population of 2 million people to a single “humanitarian area.”

Ethnic cleansing at its “finest”.

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/05/israel-gaza-destroy-trump-deal