ISAS Working Papers

If United States President Donald Trump had hoped to reboot his faltering presidency by going to Saudi Arabia at the beginning of his first foreign tour, he seems unlikely to achieve that goal. By starting his nine-day trip with Riyadh as the first port of call, he expected to divert the attention of the growing number of his critics at home who were focusing on the almost daily revelations about and from a dysfunctional White House. He thought that he would bring back good economic news from his foreign trip. He wanted to shift the attention of the American people towards economic issues, in particular, employment. He was of the view that the political base he had built to gain the presidency would continue to give him support if he could bring jobs to the economically-devastated areas in the country. Even with several memoranda of understanding signed with the Saudi government – and with the companies in the kingdom – it is arguably unlikely that he will succeed in creating many new jobs in America.