Over the past decade, the Trump family organization has garnered much support from allies in the Persian Gulf who stood to profit from President Donald Trump’s relentlessly pro-business stance. But now, reports the Washington Post, “his decision to wage war on Iran and his erratic conduct have tarnished his image” and have associates in the UAE complaining they’ve been “played.”
As the Post explains, “Publicly, officials in the UAE and across the Persian Gulf region largely have avoided criticizing Trump and said the war has only made the UAE double down on its relationship with the United States.” When leaders from the two countries meet, they tend to lavish each other with praise. “Analysts, however, said the friendly public posturing belies a deep frustration in the Gulf with Trump’s decision-making,” as regional officials had actively tried to dissuade the U.S. from launching the war.
“Even as administrations changed, there has been a continuation of strategic direction between U.S. presidents,” said Mohammed Baharoon, director general of B’huth, a Dubai research center. Since Trump derailed that direction, says Baharoon, “Throw a dime in the street,” and you could find a UAE resident angry at Trump over the war.
The Post spoke with several examples, such as Omar Al Busaidy, a businessman who was optimistic when Trump headed to the Gulf region for the first major overseas trip of his second term. When Trump announced $2 trillion in investment deals, Busaidy felt confident that the president would prove a good ally. Then the war upended regional security, tourism, economics, and infrastructure, and Busaidy’s opinion changed.
“I’m not going to lie, I had high hopes,” Busaidy admitted. “But we got played.”
According to Busaidy, there had been optimism in the UAE over Trump’s promises to be a “no war president.” Gulf residents “believed him,” and thought that he wouldn’t “poke the bear” that was Iran. But now, Busaidy says Trump “either miscalculated or misread the situation” and has lost the support of many in the UAE business community.
Busaidy is far from the only Emirati to express such sentiments. As the Post explains, “In one of the most public displays of Gulf discontent, Emirati billionaire Khalaf Al Habtoor went viral with a public letter that lambasted Trump’s ‘dangerous decision’ to ‘drag our region into a war,’ giving voice to the frustrations that mostly had been expressed behind closed doors.”
Said Nasser Hassan Al Shaikh, a businessman, former UAE government official, and economist, “We don’t know what was going through Trump’s mind when he started this war, but we did know the potential repercussions. And we know there was no knockout.” According to wastewater engineer Khaled Al Kaabi, “Trump has only created problems for the world, then left others to solve them.” One British worker living in Dubai — who happened to speak with the Post while at the city’s Trump golf course — declared, “He’s caused horrendous regional destabilization … and just made it really hard for anyone to like him.” And even those who still like Trump admit the war has made them realize “he is crazy.”
