Trump Tells Saudi King That He Supports Modernization Drive<br />The president also discussed Saudi Arabia’s interception of a missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to the statement, with Mr. Trump telling King Salman he would support sales of "appropriate military equipment<br />that would keep Saudi Arabia safe and help create American jobs." The White House also said that Mr. Trump had encouraged the king to consider listing the state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, on an American stock exchange.<br />Prince Alwaleed sparred with Mr. Trump on Twitter during the presidential election, referring to him as a "disgrace not only to the GOP but to all America." Mr. Trump fired back, also on Twitter,<br />that he was a "dopey prince" trying to "control our U.S. politicians with daddy’s money." Please verify you’re not a robot by clicking the box.<br />In an unusually lengthy and detailed readout of the call made on Saturday, the White House said<br />that Mr. Trump had thanked King Salman for Saudi Arabia’s support in fighting terrorism and for its purchase of military equipment from the United States.<br />White House said that The king and crown prince’s recent public statements regarding the need to build a moderate, peaceful<br />and tolerant region are essential to ensuring a hopeful future for the Saudi people, to curtailing terrorist funding, and to defeating radical ideology — once and for all — so the world can be safe from its evil,<br />The White House statement made no mention of the scores of arrests, including<br />that of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire investor who has held stakes in an array of Western companies, including the News Corporation, Citigroup and Twitter.<br />5, 2017<br />TOKYO — President Donald J. Trump has spoken with the king of Saudi Arabia to offer a wholehearted endorsement of a drive to modernize the kingdom, as the Saudi authorities arrested scores of prominent business people<br />and ministers in a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown.
