Peace Through Strength Like the World Has Never Seen - Top 3 Takeaways – May 19th, 2025 - Driven By Braman Motorcars
Takeaway #1: Trump is winning
President Trump is winning, bigly. It’s hard to know begin when talking about the incredible success President Trump had in the middle east last week. After putting pen to paper to sign a historic trade deal with China to begin the week last week – he accomplished more than what any president has potentially ever accomplished in a week. In preparation for my takeaways today I jotted down all the accomplishments to gain perspective and to attempt to figure out what I should communicate. In 12 font the accomplishments came out to about seven pages. In other words, if I dedicated my Top 3 takeaways to only breaking down each of President Trump’s accomplishments in the middle east last week – I'd finish telling you about them on Thursday. So... with that being said I’m going to have to focus on only the highlights instead. Here we go... On the economy: Saudi Arabia: Trump secured a $600 billion investment commitment from the U.S. economy over four years, focusing on sectors like transportation, real estate, and automotive. Qatar: A $200 billion deal was announced for Qatar to purchase 160 jets from Boeing. UAE: The U.S. and UAE agreed to build a massive 5-gigawatt data center complex in Abu Dhabi to advance AI capabilities, described as sufficient to power a major city. Total Investments from those middle eastern big three... $2+ trillion. On national security... Saudi Arabia: A $142 billion weapons package was agreed upon, including missiles, radar systems, and transport aircraft. Qatar: a ten-year contract for the US to maintain the largest U.S. military base in the middle east. On technology... UAE deal for an AI data center complex marked a strategic push to counter China’s technological influence in the region. Saudi Arabia deal for 18,000+ Nvida AI microchips similarly countering China’s AI push in the region. Diplomacy...Temporary lifting of sanctions on Syria, seeking peace and normalized relations with the war-torn nation (that could become permanent should Syria use the opportunity to become a better actor than its previously been under prior regimes that conspired with the Iranian regime). Iran...proposals exchanged between Iran and the Trump administration regarding a non-nuclear deal that would be a major first step towards normalization for the terrorist sponsoring nation.
Takeaway #2: The middle eastern takeaways
What happened last week is about as much as what those countries think as what we do. For that reason, I find Aljazeera's reporting on what transpired especially instructive. Their five takeaways from President Trump’s trip to the middle-east were these: 1) A rebuke of interventionism. Addressing an investment summit in Riyadh, Trump promoted a realist approach to the Middle East — one in which the US does not intervene in the affairs of other countries. 2) Israel sidelined, but no Gaza solution. It is rare for US presidents to travel to the Middle East and not visit Israel, but Trump omitted the US ally from his itinerary as he toured the region. 3) Lifting Syria sanctions. In a move that surprised many observers, Trump announced from Riyadh that he will offer sanction relief to Syria, as the country emerges from a decade-plus civil war. 4) A carrot and a stick for Iran. In Saudi Arabia, Trump declared that he wants a deal with Iran — and he wants it done quickly. 5) Investments, investments and more investments. Before entering politics, Trump was a real estate mogul who played up his celebrity persona as a mega-rich dealmaker. He appears to have brought that business mindset to the White House. So that’s how this played in the middle east which is really saying something. Anyone who watched what transpired, saw that President Trump was effectively greeted as a hero everywhere he went over including by being awarded with the UAE’s highest civilian honor.
Takeaway #3: What's Next
So yes, President Trump’s Middle East trip, was marked by massive economic achievements. Diplomatically, he advanced U.S.-Gulf ties, lifted sanctions on Syria, and progressed Iran nuclear talks, while shifting U.S. policy toward non-interventionism. However, the trip was also about something so much more. Restoring order to the middle east while breaking the back of China’s growing influence. For years I’ve talked about how China isn’t just China – it's Russia, it’s Iran, it’s North Korea – with Little Rocket Man, it’s Cuba, it’s Venezuela and it’s Nicaragua. But China was also looking to add other key players in the middle-east. What Trump did is cement the US’s place as the superpower leader for the region to advance with which keeps China’s influence at bay. Plus, if President Trump can negotiate peace with Russia and Ukraine – which is being worked on again today – Trump can do something similar with Russia to help to decouple them from China which has become Russia’s largest trading partner and key economic funder. Ditto, Iran – though I’m far more skeptical of that kind of a deal coming together. This trip was as much about peace in the middle east and beyond by using economic opportunity as the catalyst. It also was about limiting and isolating the economies of the bad actors around world while extending an opportunity for them to also come into the fold. Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump are/were very different presidents but with many similarities. Peace through strength is on full display – but this time not just militarily but economically – which could be the permanent game change that’s needed for relative peace and stability. Many made a lot out of Trump not visiting Israel during the trip. What he did on the trip was far better for the country than anything that could have been achieved through a visit with the Israelis. So, yeah. That’s what Trump did last week. Probably just a little bit more productive than what was accomplished by you and me.