President Trump announced on Tuesday that he signed a strategic defense agreement designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally.
“Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that we are taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally,” Trump said, speaking at the White House dinner honoring Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“I’m just telling you for the first time because I wanted to keep a little secret for tonight,” the president added.
The agreement is the latest overture between Washington and Riyadh during the crown prince’s visit. Earlier on Tuesday, Trump and bin Salman announced Saudi Arabia would be investing $1 trillion into the U.S.
Additionally, administration officials said on Tuesday that an agreement to export semiconductor chips to Saudi Arabia could come as soon as this week. Trump also said he could see a nuclear civil cooperation deal between the two countries in the future.
However, the diplomatic overtures come as Trump has received criticism for rolling out the red carpet for bin Salman. The crown prince’s visit to Washington is the first time he has been back in the U.S. capital since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The CIA concluded that bin Salman likely ordered his killing.
Saudi Arabia has also been the subject of fierce criticism over human rights issues and has faced questions over whether it played a role in the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the U.S.
Trump defended bin Salman in the face of questions on the topics from reporters on Tuesday, accusing a reporter from ABC News who asked about the topics that she was “embarrassing our guests.”
The crown prince jumped in, saying he feels “pain about the families of 9/11 in America.”
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos spotted at White House dinner for Saudi crown prince
Tech titans Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos were among the guests spotted at President Trump’s black tie dinner in honor of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday evening.
Musk was seen seated among guests in the East Room while Bezos walked in shortly after cameras were turned on.
Trump addressed the roomful of guests, which also included Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, who was also in attendance. The president gave Ronaldo a shoutout, noting that he introduced his son Barron to the soccer star.
“This room is loaded up with the biggest leaders in the world,” Trump said in remarks to guests in the East Room.
Administration officials were also present at the lavish event, including Vice President Vance, second lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was also in attendance, as was first lady Melania Trump.
Musk’s presence at the event is notable given his falling-out with the president earlier this year. The tech giant led the administration’s efforts to slash the size of the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In June, Trump and Musk clashed over the president’s massive reconciliation package, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, leading to somewhat of a breakup between the two leaders.
While the two took part in a war of words on social media, Musk and Trump were spotted sitting together at the funeral of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September.
The black tie dinner is the latest in what has arguably been the most elaborate welcoming of a foreign leader to the White House this year.
But it also comes under the guise of controversy as Saudi Arabia has been at the center of criticisms over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whom the U.S. intelligence community determined was killed at the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed. Saudi Arabia has also been under fire over a variety of human rights issues, though the crown prince has been trying to pull Saudi Arabia into more modern times.
Trump greeted the crown prince earlier on Tuesday on the South Lawn in an arrival ceremony, which included a band, a military horseback procession, and fighter jets flying over the White House.