When Stupid Meets Stupid: Why Trump And The Gulf Monarchs Get Along So Well

Empowering Weak & Oppressed

Muhammad Thabit

Dhu al-Hijjah 05, 1446 2025-06-01

News & Analysis

by Muhammad Thabit (News & Analysis, Crescent International Vol. 55, No. 4, Dhu al-Hijjah, 1446)

In recent months, the political bromance between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu seems to have cooled significantly. For years, Trump positioned himself as one of Israel’s staunchest allies, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and greenlighting policies that entrenched the Israeli right.

Lately, however, his tone has shifted. The once-adored Netanyahu is now dismissed with visible disdain, and in a stunning twist of irony, Trump appears more enamored with Gulf monarchs like Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) of Saudi Arabia and the rulers of UAE.

Analysts have chalked up this shift to Trump’s famously erratic personality or fragile ego, suggesting it’s all part of his “unpredictable” nature. But there’s another dimension—one that’s received surprisingly little attention: a profound resonance of shared stupidity.

That’s right. Trump gets along well with the Gulf monarchs not because of shared strategy, but because they think on the same one-dimensional, glitzy, authoritarian, and shockingly shallow level.

While Israel, for all its flaws, has long mastered the art of empire management—with deep intelligence networks, mastery over media and finance, and a four-dimensional chessboard of geopolitical strategy—Trump never made it past checkers. The Israeli state is a paradoxical blend of ruthless realpolitik and high-functioning statecraft.

The Gulf monarchs, meanwhile, have taken a very different approach to power: invest billions in international vanity projects, ignore educational reform, and build gigantic glass towers in the middle of the desert. Enter Trump: real estate mogul turned would-be autocrat. No wonder they get along so well.

Big, Shiny, and Simple: The Bedouin-Brained Vision of Governance

The key to understanding this bizarre alignment lies in the mindset of the Gulf rulers, whose ideas of power and modernity revolve around optics. From the Burj Khalifa to artificial islands, from underwater hotels to MbS’s “The Line” smart city—a 170 km-long mirrored wall slicing through the desert—governance has been reduced to urban spectacle. There’s no long-term investment in domestic human capital, no flourishing centers of learning, no robust scientific culture. The future, apparently, is skyscrapers and flying taxis.

Trump, who built his career plastering gold letters on gaudy buildings and branding steaks and airlines into oblivion, naturally sees these Gulf projects as visionary genius. Unlike the Chinese, who think in 50-year strategic terms, or even the Israelis who play geopolitical chess with ruthless precision, both Trump and his Gulf puppets think in terms of “how big, how tall, and how flashy.”

It’s not just that they share poor instincts; they value the same illusions. Trump doesn’t understand statecraft. He understands branding. So does MbS. So do the Emiratis. Governance becomes a game of Instagrammable infrastructure and Netflix-worthy PR campaigns. If your capital city doesn’t look like the inside of a spaceship, are you even a country?

Forget Sun Tzu or Machiavelli. The real father of modern Gulf-American diplomacy is apparently Bob the Builder.

Transactional Minds and Ego Massages

Trump’s worldview is inherently transactional—loyalty is bought, not earned. Gulf monarchs, whose entire foreign policy is built on transactional relations (we give you oil, you give us weapons and PR cover), find in Trump a kindred spirit. They also happen to be expert manipulators of the western psyche. Lavish ceremonies, gold-plated receptions, giant portraits, and the promise of investment pipelines are all part of a psychological playbook tailored for western narcissists.

Israeli politicians, by contrast, are notoriously sharp, sometimes even brusque. They’re not here to coddle egos or stage elaborate shows of deference. In fact, they expect—and receive—deference from boot-licking western politicians. Such is the privilege of running international blackmail operations and child sex-trafficking rings.

To Trump, that’s offensive. Why would he want to play second fiddle to a country that’s not even bothering to call him “Your Excellency” while serving lamb chops on a diamond-studded plate?

Authoritarianism

Another important affinity between Trump and the Gulf monarchs is their shared admiration for authoritarian rule. Trump has long expressed open disdain for democratic norms—praising dictators, undermining institutions, and fantasizing about being “President for life.” The Gulf monarchs don’t have to fantasize. They already live that dream, surrounded by yes-men, censorship, and state-controlled narratives.

Israeli democracy, with its chaotic coalition politics, combative media, and activist judiciary, is too complex for Trump. It’s a system where power is imposed by deception and covert manipulation. Trump finds that kind of political culture disorienting—if not offensive. His envy of authoritarian rulers is well-documented. He doesn’t just tolerate strongmen; he idolizes them. MbS jails critics. Trump has talked about jailing opponents, though has not followed through with it.

“Stupid Recognizes Stupid” and Populist Aesthetics

At a deeper level, Trump and the Gulf rulers are populists—not in ideology, but in style. They rule through spectacle, not substance. Trump has MAGA rallies. MbS has NEOM. Both are more concerned with what gets televised than what actually works. They appeal to base instincts with shiny distractions, pseudo-nationalist rhetoric, and promises of utopia that never materialize.

Their governing philosophies are built on spectacle. Not just bread and circuses—more like bread, circuses, and firework-lit malls. Both their audiences and their egos demand it.

When your foreign policy is indistinguishable from a tourism brochure, you might be in the Trump-Gulf axis.

Real Estate as Foreign Policy

The relationship is also grounded in an unusual lingua franca: real estate. Where others see diplomacy, Trump and the Gulf monarchs see land development opportunities. MbS’s Vision 2030 plan is practically an open invitation to Trump-style branding. The idea of creating an entire “Silicon Valley in the sand” is something Trump could sell with his name plastered on the entrance. It’s not a coincidence that Trump properties have long enjoyed interest from wealthy Gulf clients and that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner received a massive investment from the Saudis post-presidency.

Where Israel operates in realms of defense, cyber-intelligence, and biotech—domains that require scientific knowledge and institutional continuity—Gulf states and Trump only understand bulldozers, glass panels, and showy ribbon-cuttings. It’s a shared currency of vision, if one can call it that.

Disillusionment with the Israeli Elite

Trump’s personal frustration with the American Jewish establishment—particularly after Charlottesville, January 6, and his fluctuating popularity—also plays a role. He may feel betrayed or underappreciated by a community he once thought he had locked in through his pro-Israel policies. When even Netanyahu didn’t stand firmly behind him during his post-election chaos, Trump took it personally. He doesn’t separate strategic policy from personal loyalty. He never has.

In contrast, the Gulf monarchs never condemned him. They didn’t hesitate to offer praise, partnership, or invitations. It is hard to overstate the value Trump places on long-term loyalty.

The Shifting Sands of Power in Washington

While Israel still wields vast influence in Washington, Gulf states are catching up. They’ve hired the best lobbyists, invested in western think tanks, and embedded themselves in key American industries—from media to sports to defense. In many ways, Trump may be sensing this shift and trying to leverage the wave of rising influence.

It’s not necessarily a strategic recalibration. It’s a vibes-based realignment, led by ego, flattery, and mutual aesthetic blindness masquerading as vision.

A Symphony of Shallow

Trump’s increasing fondness for the Gulf monarchs over Israel is not some brilliant geopolitical recalibration. It’s a synergy of superficiality. It’s the triumph of style over strategy, spectacle over substance, authoritarian envy over democratic messiness. Trump doesn’t speak the language of intelligence reports or regional stability. He speaks the language of towers, spotlights, and VIP suites.

In this sense, his newfound alignment with the Gulf monarchs is not a bug—it’s a feature. A feature of a broader trend where diplomacy is no longer driven by strategic thinkers, but by real estate moguls with inferiority complexes, guided by the aesthetic sensibilities of a Las Vegas casino.

And in that world, a mirrored city in the desert is more compelling than a failed apartheid state—no matter how sophisticated its intelligence services may be.