The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board warned on Tuesday that President Donald Trump may be asking "too little" in return from a foreign leader that he is treating to a lavish reception at the White House.
Trump hosted Saudi Arabian Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, where the president treated him to a lavish dinner and defended him from accusations that he approved the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Overall, the editors described the event as a "love-in."
During the visit, Trump said he would sell F-35 fighter jets to the Saudis, but the Wall Street Journal's editors said it was unclear what the U.S. was receiving in return.
"What will the U.S. get from MBS’s trip? So far, the answer is cash money," the editors wrote in a new editorial on Tuesday. "The Crown Prince said his May pledge of $600 billion in investments in the U.S. will be raised to $1 trillion. Wait to see how much of it materializes."
But a strengthened U.S.-Saudi relationship is "good news," the editorial continued.
"From China and Israel to Yemen and Iran, there’s much the Saudis can do for America. For what Mr. Trump is offering them, though, he ought to make sure he isn’t asking too little."