Trump praises crowd of cheering soldiers at biggest US military base in the Middle East, vows substantial pay raises
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — President Trump visited the largest US military base in the Middle East on Thursday, honoring the troops that are stationed in Qatar and praising the investments pouring in from the Arab country to buy American-made equipment.“Yesterday we signed an agreement for Qatar to purchase $42 billion worth of the finest American military hardware,” Trump said, listing off the state-of-the-art equipment, including Pegasus refueling aircraft, amphibious combat vehicles, the MQ-9B plane — and more.“I don’t think our friendship has ever been stronger than it is right now,” he said of US-Qatar relations.Trump has emphasized the need for Qatar security on his jaunt to the Middle East, saying “nobody’s going to break” his relationship with Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani — and that the US “will protect” the petroleum-rich country.“We’ve never, we have never had a relationship with Qatar as strong as it is now.
You know that they’re very happy, and we’re going to protect you.We’re going to protect you.
That’s the one thing you need, maybe, but I don’t think you’re going to need too much of that,” Trump said at a business roundtable Thursday morning.Later on Air Force One flying to the UAE, he said Arabs were “starving for love” that the Biden administration didn’t provide them — noting the fist bump former President Biden gave Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia.“They felt abandoned and they were going to be captured by China,” he said of the Arab countries.At that roundtable, Trump touted plans for advanced US war planes — including the Boeing F-47 announced in March as an update on the F-22 and named in honor of both the incumbent 47th president and the founding year of the Air Force.Trump, sitting next to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, said that he also has plans for a not previously announced Boeing F-55 fighter jet, which would be an update on the F-35.“We’re going to do an F...