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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

President Trump Gets Royal Welcome in Saudi Arabia; Hamas Releases Last Known Living American Hostage in Gaza. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 13, 2025 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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SOLOMON: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon. It is Tuesday, May 13th, 4:01 here in New York and straight ahead on EARLY START.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we'll be seeing three primary countries. You know all about that. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the kingdom's perspective, it's time to secure greater privileges in their relationship.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He does not believe in rules and laws and norms. He thinks if you can get a free plane, as he said today, why wouldn't you do it? You wouldn't do it because it's a bribe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The overarching theme of Combs' defense strategy is going to be that all of these relationships were consensual.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not here to talk about him being bad. We're here to talk about him being a criminal.

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SOLOMON: And good morning. We begin with President Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East. It's his first major overseas trip since the start of his second term.

Right now he's in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That's where he received a royal welcome greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the tarmac. Several Trump administration officials say that the president's top priority is obtaining economic agreements with a focus on trade and investment. Later this week, President Trump will head to the UAE and Qatar.

Now, with him on the trip are the secretaries of state, defense, treasury and commerce, also the White House chief of staff. And this comes as the Trump administration helps secure the release of Israeli- American hostage Edan Alexander.

We're going to have more on that just ahead. But for now, let's get straight to CNN's Paula Hancocks, who is in Abu Dhabi. Paula, talk to us about what we can expect to see during the president's visit to the kingdom.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, he does have a busy few days ahead of him, as you say. He is currently in Saudi Arabia. He has had the official greeting from the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a coffee ceremony as he came off Air Force One into the airport terminal.

So this was the first smaller greeting by the royal family in part and also the entourage around the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia. He was, as you say, alongside a number of his secretaries. And that is really key to show just how wide this meeting is expected to be, just how many different topics, many different policies, agendas we are expecting to see covered, certainly in Saudi Arabia, the fact that it is going to be very much focused on investment, very much focused on the economics, but also with diplomacy and defense very closely behind.

Now, we understand that the U.S. president will be going to his hotel. He will then be going to a Saudi U.S. investment forum. And this is where we are likely to hear him speak for the first time in an official capacity since landing in Saudi Arabia.

This is where we understand there are a plethora of CEOs, both American and Saudi, who are at this forum. We will be hearing from the U.S. president, giving a keynote address in just the coming hours.

And then later on this Tuesday, we will also see him heading to an UNESCO World Heritage site with the Crown Prince. This is where there is a project that the Crown Prince wants to show him, the historical site, the old city of this area as well. And that is where they will be having their first official dinner. So the state dinner, we don't know how much of it will be public at this point, but clearly that is going to be where much of the deeper conversation between these two leaders happens.

Now, as you mentioned there, Rahel, the investment part of this is key. We do know that the U.S. president is hoping for some really eye- watering figures to come out of this meeting here in Riyadh.

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But the amount of deals that he wants to be done, when we heard previously from Riyadh that it was going to be some $600 billion investment over four years, we heard from President Trump saying, why not make it $1 trillion?

We are also expecting to hear from the Saudi side, of course. They do want reciprocity. They want to be able to get more security guarantees, if you like. They have decided that their external defense lies with the United States, so we can expect many of these significant deals to be in defense.

And we also know that, of course, geopolitics cannot be far behind. There are a number of impending issues that the two leaders will have to speak about. So when you think of Israel-Gaza, for example, Ukraine-Russia, and a number of other issues, China-Iran. And that is why we believe that Donald Trump has decided that this should be his first official trip, barring, of course, the trip to the Pope's funeral in Rome, because Saudi Arabia is placed in such a way that it is able to help in a mediator role, as an interlocutor, some of these issues that the United States have.

It certainly hosted, as we saw just recently, talks between the U.S. and Russia. We know that they have been in contact with Iran, for example, that the U.S. is speaking to at this point. We know that they do have relations with China, that the U.S. potentially does not have such good relations.

So all of these factors put together, the investments, the finance, the defense, and, of course, the role as a mediator does make this a very, really key decision for the U.S. president to have chosen it as his first official trip. The fact also that there are going to be no difficult conversations with a leader. There's certainly going to be no protests. So there are expected to be a number of easy wins for the U.S. president -- Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yes, certainly lots of pomp and display on -- pomp and circumstance on display for the world to watch. Paula Hancocks, live for us in Abu Dhabi. Paula, thank you.

U.S. president is defending his decision to accept a luxury jet as a gift from Qatar's royal family.

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TRUMP: I think it's a great gesture from Qatar. I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, no, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane. But it was -- I thought it was a great gesture.

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SOLOMON: Donald Trump plans to use the newer Boeing 747 to replace an aging Air Force One after it is retrofitted. The unprecedented move raises substantial ethical and legal questions, and some U.S. lawmakers are calling the gift a, quote, bribe. A former presidential advisor also sounding the alarm.

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DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: The issue with Donald Trump is he does not believe in rules and laws and norms. He thinks they're for suckers. And he thinks if you can get a free plane, as he said today, why wouldn't you do it?

You wouldn't do it because it's a bribe. And they're trying to buy influence.

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SOLOMON: All right. We are joined now live by Fawaz Gerges. He is a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics.

Fawaz, great to have you this morning. He is also the author of "The Great Betrayal, The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East."

Fawaz, this was the first scheduled international trip in the president's second term. He obviously traveled to Rome for the unexpected passing of the pope there. But this was scheduled -- the Middle East was scheduled and meant to be his first international trip. What do you make of the significance of that? And what are you watching for with this trip over the next few days?

FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Well, thanks for having me. I think with President Trump, one has to follow the trail of money. It's all about money. It's all about economic state graft. It's about investment in the U.S. economy.

For Donald Trump -- and I'm not exaggerating -- the United States is a big department store. Everything for sale. Everything. Arms, nuclear technology, AI. You can buy anything. And the world knows this. So money has replaced values for President Trump.

And the world is really treating Donald Trump and the United States in terms of trying to strike deals, big deals, in terms of arms, advanced technology, you know, nuclear materials for civilian use, what have you.

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So at the end of the day, what you're going to see at the end of this particular trip is President Trump talking about signing trillions of dollars of deals, because he wants to use this back at home, because his ideology, his doctrine is America's first. And he is bringing the money back home.

So this is really -- I don't think Donald Trump has a strategic vision for the region beyond striking economic deals and basically convincing Americans that he is making major investments in the U.S. economy.

SOLOMON: And what about what success looks like for the other sides? I mean, as you pointed out, Trump has said that he wants to sign deals worth of a trillion dollars. But what does success look like for Saudi Arabia, for the UAE, for Qatar? What about for them?

GERGES: Well, I think it's not just the Saudis and the Emiratis and the Qataris who are trying to really have good relations with Donald Trump. The entire world now, most of the entire world, knows exactly what really picks Donald Trump. And it's about money.

So they're going to go out of their way by promising President Trump big, massive economic deals, the deals of the century. But most of the numbers will not materialize at the end of the day. The trillions of dollars that President Trump is talking about is basically more promises.

To give you an idea, during his first presidential term, when he visited Saudi Arabia, he said he signed $450 billion deals in Saudi Arabia. And economic analysis by the New York Times showed that only $95 billion was basically -- I mean, carried through, less than during the Obama term, presidential term. So it tells you about the huge divide between the rhetoric, President Trump, about the trillions of dollars and the reality on the ground.

And I think you're going to see a similar process that the Saudis and the Emiratis and the Qataris are trying to really deepen their relations with the United States, because they rely on America's security umbrella. But at the end of the day, the world has changed. The Middle East has changed. They have diversified their both geopolitical and geoeconomic relations with China, with India, with Russia. But still, they want to really impress President Trump and strike big deals with the president to impress on him the importance of the Gulf states.

SOLOMON: So then, Fawaz, sort of taking that point and taking it a step further, so then who really comes out of this, the winner and the loser? So Trump, to your point, sort of gets the pump, the circumstance, the photo ops, the win on the front end. But if the deals don't materialize and these other countries get the sort of the platform of being the first official state visit of the American president, who ultimately sort of comes out of this as the biggest winners and losers here?

GERGES: Well, I think if there is one point to describe what you said, your question, it's about the formative politics. President Trump is all about performance. It's about noise. It's about bubble. It's about really trying to convince his base at home that he is basically trying to impress on world leaders to invest in the U.S. economy. So performative politics explain to a large extent what President Trump has been doing in the past hundred days.

Contradictory, chaotic, temperamental, inconsistent. And the Gulf state will gain a great deal because they will basically have closer relation with Donald Trump. They basically they will get some major arms deals, advanced technology. Saudi Arabia will likely get a nuclear program for civilian use.

What I really would like to see is basically ending the war in Gaza, ending the unfolding catastrophe in Gaza, that President Trump can do a great deal of good if he focuses really on this unfolding, I mean, horrible, catastrophic humanitarian situation and bring about an end to the war and bring Israeli hostages back home. He could do so. He's the only one who could do so.

So my hope is not only sign deals with the states and the region, but pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end this war, this reckless and this senseless war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed the Gaza Strip.

SOLOMON: Certainly a lot to watch out. We appreciate you being on this morning for your insights and perspectives. That's Fawaz Gerges. Thank you, sir.

[04:15:00] GERGES: Thank you.

SOLOMON: And coming up, an emotional reunion in Israel after Hamas releases an American hostage held for more than 19 months. We'll have those details straight ahead.

Plus, the first witnesses take the stand in the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean Diddy Combs.

And later the NFL schedule for the upcoming season is out this week. We'll take a look at some of the highlights, including some key matchups for the defending Super Bowl champs. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. The last known living American hostage in Gaza is now back in Israel following his release by Hamas. Edan Alexander reunited with his family in Tel Aviv on Monday after more than 19 months in captivity. The 21-year-old was serving in the Israeli military when he was taken hostage during the militant group's October 7 attacks. You hear the cheers there erupting in Tel Aviv's hostage square.

It's where crowds gathered to watch his release, which came after days of talks between Hamas and the U.S. Now, the Trump administration bypassed Israel to seal the deal that it hopes will be a step toward ending the war and freeing the remaining hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had this reaction.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): This is a very emotional moment. Edan Alexander has returned home. We embrace him, and we embrace his family.

This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump. This is a winning combination.

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SOLOMON: Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he would welcome President Trump's presence at potential peace talks with Russian officials this week. U.S. President said Monday that he was thinking about flying to Turkey, where Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed direct talks with Ukraine. Now, since that offer, the Kremlin has not confirmed whether Putin or any other official will actually show up. And President Zelenskyy is pushing for a commitment.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I am ready to be in Turkey. Unfortunately, the world has not received a clear response from Russia regarding numerous proposals for a ceasefire. Russian shelling and assaults continue. Moscow has remained silent all day regarding the proposal for a direct meeting. A very strange silence.

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SOLOMON: Meanwhile, Ukraine's European allies say that they will pursue more sanctions against Russia after Moscow ignored calls for a 30-day ceasefire.

All right, still ahead for us, a big breakthrough in the China-U.S. trade war. But the deal marks more of a pause, not exactly a solution.

We'll have the details coming up.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. I'm Rahel Solomon. And here are some of the stories we are watching for you today.

President Trump is now in Saudi Arabia where he received a royal welcome from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This is the first stop of his Middle East tour. He heads to Qatar and the UAE later in the week.

Taiwan not taking any chances as tensions escalate with China. On Monday, the self-governing island test-fired a new U.S.-supplied rocket system for the first time. The HIMARS, which have been widely used by Ukraine against Russia, are capable of hitting targets in China if war were to break out with Taiwan.

And Kim Kardashian is expected to testify in a Paris court in the coming hours. The trial concerns a 2016 robbery during Paris Fashion Week where Kardashian says she was robbed at gunpoint. The suspects got away with millions of dollars worth of jewelry, some of which have still never been recovered.

All right, now back to our top story this hour. President Donald Trump has arrived in Saudi Arabia and he got a royal welcome from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the tarmac. There are several events planned for the day, including bilateral luncheons and signing of agreements.

President Trump plans to re-emphasize his vision for a, quote, proud, prosperous and successful Middle East engaged in cooperative relationships with the U.S. His trip will also include a visit to Qatar and the UAE later in the week.

Joined now by CNN senior White House producer Betsy Klein, who is traveling with the president. She is in Riyadh. Betsy, give us a sense of what we've seen so far and what we can expect today.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Yes, Rahel, President Trump landed just moments ago. Major international trip of his second term. He arrived to much of that pomp and circumstance and stagecraft that he really enjoys. There was a 21-gun salute, a purple carpet arrival and greeting by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two then retreated into the airport for tea and coffee with other top officials from both countries.

Now, Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince, has really emerged as a top Trump ally and a mediator in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, something that President Trump has made a key priority, something he's looking to resolve. Of course, that has proven elusive so far.

He's also really worked hard to cultivate close ties with the U.S. after his country was largely isolated after that 2018 murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Now, on the agenda later today, a more formal arrival ceremony with the Crown Prince, an introduction of the delegation, a lunch with CEOs and really a veritable who's who of American CEOs, Vidya, Palantir, Uber, Coca-Cola, Google and Boeing, among others, as well as Elon Musk, who is there in his capacity as the CEO of SpaceX, Tesla and X. Of course, he is also a senior advisor to the president, heads up the Department of Government Efficiency.

Now, on this trip more broadly, the president's going to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. These are not traditional U.S. allies, but it really echoes the first trip of the president's first term. He went to Saudi Arabia. He also went to Israel, which notably he is not stopping at this time. And it really underscores how significantly the world order has changed as President Trump has really reimagined the role of the U.S. in the world. And, of course, those conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the Hamas war with Israel, have really changed the stability in the Middle East and in Europe and around the world.