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Executive Summary
President Donald Trump addressed the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington on November 19, 2025, announcing that Saudi Arabia has increased its investment commitment in the United States from $600 billion to $1 trillion, with $270 billion in deals being signed that day alone. Trump celebrated the designation of Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally and the signing of a strategic defense agreement, while announcing arms sales including nearly 300 American-made tanks. The speech ranged widely, from attacking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell (whom Trump said “should be fired”) to defending his policy of allowing foreign workers to staff advanced manufacturing plants, to claiming credit for settling “eight wars” and announcing a new commitment to address the Sudan conflict at the Crown Prince’s request. Trump touted his “Great Big Beautiful Bill” tax cuts taking effect January 1st, criticized windmills and climate policies, praised rapid permitting reforms, and claimed the U.S. has secured $18 trillion in investments in nine months compared to less than $1 trillion under Biden’s four years.
Participants
Speaker:
– Donald Trump, President of the United States
Notable Attendees Mentioned:
- Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia
- Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Ambassador to the United States
- Yasser Al-Rumayyan, Governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund
- Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
- Doug Burgum, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
- Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce
- Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
- Lee Zeldin, EPA Administrator
- Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture
- Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff
- Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA
- Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
- Tiffany Trump and Michael Boulos, President Trump’s daughter and son-in-law
- David Sacks (referred to as “David”), likely AI policy advisor
- Executive from GE Aerospace
- Kelly Ortberg (referenced as “Kelly”), CEO of Boeing
Detailed Topic-by-Topic Breakdown
Opening: Welcome to Business Leaders
Trump opened by welcoming attendees to the forum, describing them as “the biggest, most talented, most successful and innovative business leaders anywhere on the planet.” He characterized the United States as “the hottest country anywhere in the world” for investment.
In characteristic fashion, Trump referenced his self-professed modesty: “I always want to be modest, as modest as I can,” prompting laughter from the audience. He claimed that according to unnamed sources, “this has been the best nine months that any president has ever had.”
U.S.-Saudi Relations: Major Non-NATO Ally Status and Defense Agreements
Trump highlighted recent diplomatic achievements with Saudi Arabia, including events from the previous day at the White House celebrating the 80-year relationship between the two countries.
Key announcements:
- Saudi Arabia officially designated as a major non-NATO ally (described by Trump as happening “seldom, very seldom, if at all”)
- Signing of a “historic strategic defense agreement”
- Arms sales including “nearly 300 American-made tanks”
- Aircraft sales in process (Trump said Elon Musk indicated approval would take “about 24 hours”)
Trump contrasted his relationship with Saudi Arabia to previous administrations: “You didn’t have a good relationship with Barack Hussein Obama. You didn’t have a good relationship with Sleepy Joe Biden, but you had a great relationship with me and now it’s as good as it was and probably even better.”
Context for general readers: Major non-NATO ally status is a designation the U.S. grants to close allies that are not members of NATO. It provides benefits including eligibility for certain defense-related assistance and expedited arms sales, but does not include the mutual defense guarantees that NATO membership provides.
Iran: Claims of “Obliteration” of Nuclear Capability
One of the most significant portions of the speech addressed military action against Iran. Trump claimed the U.S. had eliminated Iran’s nuclear capability:
“We took the dark cloud away from your country. It was called Iran and its nuclear capability, and we obliterated that very quickly and strongly and powerfully.”
Trump described the use of B-2 stealth bombers: “They flew in. They were undetectable and they dropped their payload. And every single bomb hit its exact mark, which was a shaft going deep into the mountain.”
He said he was criticized for using the word “obliteration” but defended it: “Three days later when the Atomic Energy Commission went, they said it was total obliteration, beyond obliteration, they said.”
Trump added that Iran now “want to make a deal” with the United States.
Context for general readers: This appears to reference military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, though the specific timing and details of such strikes would need to be verified through additional reporting. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be the international body responsible for assessing damage to nuclear facilities.
Investment Announcements: From $600 Billion to $1 Trillion
The centerpiece economic announcement was Saudi Arabia’s increased investment commitment:
- Original commitment during Trump’s spring visit: $600 billion
- Trump’s request: increase to $1 trillion
- Crown Prince’s announcement the previous day: $1 trillion commitment
- Trump’s new ask during backstage photo: $1.5 trillion (“So he’s got something to think about”)
Trump announced that $270 billion in agreements and sales were being signed between dozens of companies at the forum that day.
He contrasted his investment figures with the previous administration: “In four long years, Joe Biden secured less than $1 trillion. In nine short months, I’ve secured $18 trillion to rebuild our factories, create hundreds of thousands of jobs and bring back those beautiful words made in America.”
Trump predicted the investment total would exceed $20 trillion by the end of his first year.
New White House Ballroom
In a lighter moment, Trump discussed plans to build a ballroom at the White House, noting that the previous night’s entertainment event had 119 people in “a room that was far too small.” He said people had been “clamoring for a ballroom at the White House” for 150 years and promised the Saudi delegation would be “among the first, if not the first” to use it.
Tariffs: “The Best Thing That’s Ever Happened to Our Country”
Trump offered an extended defense of his tariff policies, calling them “frankly, the best thing that’s ever happened to our country.”
Key claims:
– “We’ve taken in trillions and trillions of dollars”
– Countries that “took advantage of us are no longer taking advantage of us”
– “Some of our friends treated us far worse than our enemies on trade”
– “Everybody’s happy. They respect us again”
Trump announced plans for a dividend to low and middle income Americans of “at least $2,000” from tariff revenues, plus using funds to “pay down debt very substantially.”
Context for general readers: Tariffs are taxes on imported goods. While they are paid by the importing companies (and often passed on to consumers), Trump frames them as payments from other countries. Economists debate the net effects of tariffs on the broader economy, trade relationships, and consumer prices.
Federal Reserve Criticism: Sharp Attacks on Jerome Powell
Some of Trump’s most pointed criticism was reserved for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump called him:
– “This clown”
– “Grossly incompetent”
– Someone with “real mental problems”
Trump criticized Powell’s plans to hire 3,000 economists and spending “$4 billion on renovating a building that should have cost $25 million bucks.” He said they were “building a basement into the Potomac River.”
In exchanges with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trump said: “I’ll be honest, I’d love to fire his ass. He should be fired.” He noted Bessent was urging patience since Powell has “three months to go.”
Trump then jokingly threatened Bessent himself: “The only thing Scott’s blowing it on is the fed, because the fed, the rates are too high, Scott. And if you don’t get it fixed fast, I’m going to fire your ass.”
He suggested Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was “a little bit more for firing.”
Context for general readers: The Federal Reserve is designed to be independent from political pressure to maintain stability in monetary policy. The Fed chair can only be removed “for cause,” and while this has never been legally tested, it’s generally understood to mean misconduct rather than policy disagreements. Trump’s public pressure on the Fed breaks with traditional presidential norms of respecting Fed independence.
Scott Bessent and the Fed Chair Position
Trump revealed he had considered Bessent for the Federal Reserve chairmanship: “We’re thinking about him for the fed, but he wants no part of it. He likes being Secretary of the Treasury.”
Trump said of the Fed chair job: “To me, it’s the easiest job in the world. You play golf for 28, 29 days, then you go and make a little speech, tell everybody, in the case of the current guy, the wrong information because he has no clue. But if you have good instincts — you know, it’s all based on instincts.”
Energy Policy: “Drill, Baby, Drill” and AI Power Plants
Trump addressed energy policy extensively, urging Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and others to accelerate drilling.
AI companies building their own power:
Trump described what he presented as an innovative solution to AI companies’ massive electricity needs. Rather than connecting to “a 200-year-old grid,” he said he told companies building $50 billion AI facilities to “build your own electric generating plant.”
“I said we’re getting you approved in a two-week, three-week period. It used to take 20 years prior to termination.”
He credited EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin with rapid approvals: “If it’s oil and gas, get them approved in two weeks, if it’s nuclear add another week.”
Companies can also sell excess electricity back to the federal grid.
LNG plants in Louisiana:
Trump recounted approving two massive liquefied natural gas plants that had been under review for 14 and 18 years respectively. “The first one I got approved in one day. The second one, I got a little cocky, I took my time. It took me one week.”
Both plants are “operating today and they’re tremendously successful.”
Climate Change and “Green New Scams”
Trump criticized climate policies extensively, calling them “green new scams.”
He mocked the evolution of terminology: “They have new word, climate change. It used to be global warming… Well, that didn’t work because it started coming down. They did the global cooling thing… then they just said we can’t keep up with this, it’s too much, so we’ll go — perfect words — climate change.”
He referenced past climate predictions: “The world was supposed to have been gone two years ago. They gave us 12 years, Howard, to live, right? 12 years, but that was 14 years ago.”
Windmills:
Trump declared himself “the biggest negative person on windmills”: “They ruin your locations… every time it goes around, you lose money. The country loses money. It’s a disaster.”
Coal:
Trump insisted on the phrase “clean, beautiful coal,” explaining: “Coal needs a little help public relations wise.”
Technology and AI: NVIDIA, Blackwell, and Federal Approval
Trump highlighted U.S. leadership in AI, saying “We’re leading China by a lot in AI.”
He singled out Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, asking him to stand and praising his work: “You have done such a good job.”
Trump asked about NVIDIA’s Blackwell AI chips: “How’s Blackwell doing? OK? Any recent competitors? Anybody going to blow Blackwell away in the next week? They say 10 years, I don’t know, maybe two years, three years.”
Federal AI approval process:
Trump emphasized his push for a single federal approval process for AI rather than requiring approval from 50 states: “You can’t go through 50 states. You have to get one approval. 50 states is a disaster because you have one woke state and you have to do all woke.”
He mentioned working with “David” (likely David Sacks) on AI policy and said some senators want state-level approval: “We’re not going to do that because that will not allow you to do what we have to do.”
Auto Industry: Plants Returning to America
Trump claimed auto plants were returning to the U.S. “from Canada and from Mexico… from Germany and Japan.”
He highlighted Toyota’s announcement of $10 billion worth of new plants with “four or five plants” planned.
Trump blamed past policies for losing manufacturing: “We led the car industry like 100 percent 50 years ago. We led the chip industry 30, 40 years ago — we had 100 percent. Then people came in and started taking it.”
He argued that tariffs would have prevented this: “If we would have said, it’s wonderful that you’re going to Taiwan, we think it’s great. But when you sell your product back into this country, there will be a 250 percent tariff. Nobody would have left.”
Skilled Worker Immigration: Breaking with Conservative Base
In one of the speech’s most notable policy statements, Trump explicitly broke with parts of his base on immigration for skilled manufacturing workers.
He acknowledged he would “take a little heat from my people” but argued that companies building complex manufacturing plants need to bring workers from abroad to train American workers:
“You can’t come in, open up a massive computer chip factory for billions and billions of dollars like is being done in Arizona, and think you’re going to hire people off an unemployment line to run it. They’re going to have to bring thousands of people with them, and I’m going to welcome those people.”
He addressed his conservative supporters directly: “I love my conservative friends. I love MAGA, but this is MAGA. And those people are going to teach our people how to make computer chips.”
Trump referenced a battery factory in Georgia where workers were “told to get out” and he intervened: “I said, stop it, don’t be stupid and we worked it out. And now they’re teaching our people how to do it.”
He asked Jensen Huang for confirmation: “I don’t think you can open up a big plant with your friend from Taiwan where we’re going to have 40 or 50 percent of the computer chip business at a very — I don’t think you can do that with people that don’t even know what a chip looks like. Do you agree with that?” Huang replied affirmatively.
Trump acknowledged the political cost: “So my poll numbers just went down, but with smart people, they’ve gone way up.”
Boeing F-47 Fighter Jet
Trump announced Boeing won the competition for a new fighter jet designated the F-47, describing it as reaching “levels that has never been reached both in terms of stealth and speed and everything else.”
He noted Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg was “doing an amazing job of coming back” and that Boeing had “already started work on the F-47.”
On the designation number: “How did that number get chosen? I don’t know, but I didn’t pick it, I did not pick it.”
Context for general readers: Trump is 47th President of the United States, making the coincidental naming notable. The F-47 would be the sixth-generation fighter jet being developed under the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
Tax Policy: “The Great Big Beautiful Bill”
Trump extensively promoted his tax legislation, which he called “the Great Big, Beautiful Bill” and described as “the biggest bill ever passed in the history of Congress.”
Key provisions taking effect January 1st:
– No tax on tips
– No tax on overtime
– No tax on Social Security for seniors
– Car loan interest deduction for middle-income buyers
– 100% expensing for equipment purchases and factory construction
Trump emphasized the car loan interest deduction: “Middle income people don’t know what the word deduction is… We’re giving them a deduction on the interest if they buy one of — a nice Tesla car and they borrow the money.”
He joked that Elon Musk “would like to have it differently, a deduction only if you buy a Tesla.”
Electric vehicle mandate:
Trump said he ended “a mandate, which even Elon thought was ridiculous, that everybody has to have an electric car by 2030.”
Extension of original tax cuts:
Trump noted the bill extended his first-term tax cuts: “If we didn’t extend, you would have had about a 58 percent tax increase.”
He thanked Speaker of the House and Senator John Thune, noting the bill passed narrowly: “It was close, like about a quarter of a vote. We were — it was on fumes.”
Economic Claims: Jobs, Wages, and Markets
Trump cited numerous economic statistics:
Stock market:
– 46 all-time record highs since the election
Jobs:
– “More jobs right now than we’ve ever had in the history of our country”
– “1.9 million more American born workers are employed today than when I took office”
– “100 percent of all new jobs created came out of the private sector” (contrasting with Biden where “one out of every four new jobs went to increase the size of the federal government”)
Wages:
– “Wages for hourly workers are rising at the fastest pace in 60 years”
– “Real wages for construction workers are up $2,200 a year”
Food stamps:
– “In nine months, we’ve lifted over 600,000 Americans off food stamps”
– Trump compared SNAP costs: “When I left, that number was $7 billion. Now it’s $47 billion. That’s Biden.”
Food Prices: Eggs, Turkey, and Thanksgiving
Trump addressed food prices, particularly eggs which had been a political flashpoint:
Eggs:
– “Since March egg prices are down 86 percent”
– Recounted reporters asking about eggs in his first three days: “I said I’ve only been here for three days and we’ll work on it”
– Said he rejected plastic eggs for the White House Easter egg hunt and credited Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins for getting prices down
Thanksgiving costs:
– “Walmart just announced that the cost of their standard Thanksgiving meal is reduced by 25 percent this year from last year”
– “According to the USDA, turkey is down… 33 percent” (joking that he wasn’t referring to the country of Turkey and President Erdogan)
Inflation:
– “Core inflation is now below 2.7 percent”
– Claimed the Biden administration had “the worst inflation in history… the highest prices in history”
Regulations and Permitting
Trump touted regulatory cuts:
– “Already slashed more than $1 trillion worth of regulations this year”
– “For every new regulation, they’re mandated to cut 10. And so far it’s for every new regulation, they’ve cut 30”
28-day permitting:
Trump emphasized a maximum 28-day approval timeline: “You can come in with $1 trillion factory… It takes a maximum of — you don’t have to go years and years and years, be abused by bureaucracy.”
He described the previous system where plans “done by the best engineers in the world, thousands of pages” would be dropped “on some guy who’s been there for 28 years approving environmental impact statements. And he’s looking at pages that he’s never seen and he’s supposed to approve it. He has no idea what the hell is in those pages.”
Susie Wiles: “Most Powerful Woman in the World”
Trump praised Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, saying she was named “most powerful woman anywhere in the world by the biggest, most important magazine.”
He noted her father was Pat Summerall, the NFL announcer: “He was a great football player, became an even greater — the voice of the NFL. And he was supposed to be a tough cookie.”
Trump joked: “She can take out a country, destroy, take out a country with one phone call. That’s power. I don’t know if I could do that, but she could.”
GE Aerospace Engine Deal
Trump highlighted a deal with GE Aerospace: “GE Aerospace will soon be delivering dozens of new airplane engines for 787 Dreamliners in Saudi Arabia’s commercial fleet.”
He praised the company’s new engine as “more efficient, more powerful and less costly.”
Foreign Policy: “Eight Wars Settled”
Trump claimed to have “settled eight raging conflicts, eight wars” and described various interventions:
Russia-Ukraine (ongoing):
– “I have one to go, you know what that one is”
– “I thought that was going to be my easy one because I have a good relationship with President Putin”
– “But I’m a little disappointed in President Putin right now. He knows that”
Other conflicts mentioned:
– One war of 36 years settled “in one day”
– Another of 32 years with “millions of people killed”
– Congo and Rwanda: “10 million people killed, it was out of control”
– Azerbaijan (Putin called and said “I can’t believe you got that one settled. We’ve been trying to settle that one for a long time”)
India-Pakistan:
Trump described threatening both countries with 350% tariffs if they went to war: “I’m not going to have you guys shooting nuclear weapons at each other, killing millions of people and having the nuclear dust floating over Los Angeles.”
He said the Prime Minister of Pakistan told Susie Wiles that “President Trump saved millions and millions of lives” and Prime Minister Modi called to say “we’re done… We’re not going to go to war.”
Trump claimed “Five of the eight were settled because of the economy, because of trade, because of tariffs.”
Sudan: New Commitment at Crown Prince’s Request
Trump announced he would begin working on the Sudan conflict at the Crown Prince’s urging, despite it not being “on my charts”:
“I just see how important that is to you and to a lot of your friends in the room, Sudan. And we’re going to start working on Sudan.”
He said the Crown Prince explained “the whole culture and the whole history, and it was very interesting to hear. Really amazing actually.”
The Crown Prince reportedly told Trump resolving Sudan “would be the greatest thing you can do. That would be greater than what you’ve already done.”
Trump said work began “about 30 minutes after you explained to us the great importance of that.”
Context for general readers: Sudan has been in civil war since April 2023, with fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces causing a massive humanitarian crisis with millions displaced and widespread famine conditions.
Gaza Ceasefire and “Board of Peace”
Trump discussed Middle East peace efforts:
Gaza ceasefire:
– “We had a historic ceasefire. We ended the war in Gaza”
– “Two days ago, incredibly the United Nations Security Council backed the Trump peace plan”
– “We have 59 countries signed on”
– Described it as “a strong peace” despite those who say “it’s tentative”
Board of Peace:
Trump announced he accepted chairmanship of what he called the “Board of Peace”: “They endorsed, the United Nations, what’s called the Board of Peace chaired by a person called Donald J. Trump.”
He said Crown Prince Mohammed would be “a very distinguished member of the board” and predicted: “I can see that going long beyond Gaza and the Middle East.”
On Middle East peace generally: “I’ve grown up, peace in the Middle East. I used to hear peace, peace, peace in the Middle East, but never happened. We have peace in the Middle East. It’s an amazing thing. Nobody thought — 3,000 years they talked.”
Political Commentary: Democrats, Elections, and Culture Wars
Throughout the speech, Trump interspersed political commentary:
2024 election:
– “We won all seven swing states. We won the popular vote by millions”
– “We won 2,750 to 550” districts
– Referenced “a rigged election by the way… nobody complains anymore because now they realize it was and it’s been proven”
Transgender issues:
Trump brought up transgender athletes unprompted, describing a Congressman “fighting for men playing in women’s sports” and citing a weightlifting record broken by 119 pounds.
He joked: “A lot of the Saudis are sitting here saying what the hell is he talking about, transition. They don’t do — Yasser, they don’t do a lot of transitioning.”
He characterized Democratic policies as “open borders, men playing in women’s sports, transgender for everybody.”
“Woke” culture:
Trump declared: “We don’t have woke anymore in this country. It’s virtually illegal.”
COVID-19 Retrospective
Trump briefly discussed COVID-19, referencing warnings about deaths in “a certain country” (implicitly China): “There’s — you know, nothing has been seen like that since 1917.”
He claimed the U.S. “did great” with “the vaccines… so many of the drugs that we came up with… Regeneron was fantastic… the gowns and the masks and the goggles and the ventilators. We were sending ventilators all over the world. We became the king of ventilators.”
He recalled pollsters telling him before COVID that “if George Washington and Abraham Lincoln came back from the dead and they aligned and they went for the president, vice president as a combination, you’d be beating them by 25 points.”
Personal Moments
Tiffany Trump:
Trump recognized his daughter Tiffany and her husband Michael Boulos, praising her academic record at Georgetown: “She was a great, great student and she finished really right at the top.”
He complained her graduation was cancelled due to COVID: “I say if her name were something else, they probably wouldn’t have canceled it. They didn’t like that she did so well in school.”
Self-described treatment of leaders:
In a moment of levity about diplomatic flattery: “Don’t worry, when I’m with other countries and the leader sitting here, I say the same about them, don’t worry. Don’t get carried away.”
Closing: Looking Ahead
Trump concluded by emphasizing respect for America and his audience:
“We want to win for you, we want to win for ourselves. We want to help our allies. We want to change our enemies… And if they don’t change, we’re going to be nasty.”
On international standing: “They’re respecting America again. They didn’t respect us. We were like a bunch of stupid people. We had a president that couldn’t get up and talk, couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs.”
He closed with personal recognition of the Crown Prince: “He’s going to be the King of Saudi Arabia. Right now, he’s the most distinguished gentleman, he’s my friend. And thank you very much for what you’ve done for us and we will always be with you.”
Work Cited
Trump, Donald J. “Speech: Donald Trump Addresses the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington – November 19, 2025.” Roll Call Factbase, 22 Apr., https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-speech-us-saudi-investment-forum-november-19-2025/.