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← Signal: State & Power

Saudi Arabia discovers Trump will not automatically defend kingdom despite billions in defense spending and investments

Confirmed1 source · Oct 19, 2026

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly urged Trump to launch airstrikes against Houthi militants attacking Saudi territory, but the president has resisted, signaling that financial investments in U.S. weapons and businesses do not guarantee American military protection.

Saudi Arabia discovers Trump will not automatically defend kingdom despite billions in defense spending and investments
Image via The Guardian

What happened

After Houthi militants intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia in September 2025, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump multiple times requesting U.S. airstrikes against the Yemen-based group allied with Iran. On October 10, Houthis fired a cruise missile at Riyadh's international airport, killing at least 13 people and wounding over 300. Trump has remained non-committal in public, saying "We may. We're going to look at it" when asked about potential strikes. This follows years of Saudi financial outreach to Trump, including pledges to invest $600 billion to nearly $1 trillion in the U.S. over four years, billions directed to Kushner's private equity firm and the Trump Organization, and a defense cooperation agreement signed in November 2024 that included a deal for dozens of F-35 stealth fighter jets.

Context

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler evidently believed that billions in weapons purchases and investments would secure a U.S. security commitment, modeling his approach on Trump's stated transactional governing style. According to The Guardian, Trump seems worried about expanding the U.S. role in a regional war that is deeply unpopular among Americans, including segments of Trump's own Maga base, and the Iran conflict has increased energy prices, driving up the U.S. inflation rate to 3.7% in September, weeks before midterm elections. The dynamic exposes vulnerability in the petrostates' strategy of buying U.S. protection and reveals tension between Trump's family business interests (which benefit from Saudi investment) and his reluctance to expand military commitments abroad. The source notes it is unclear if Trump will continue to resist launching airstrikes after the midterms, and that Prince Mohammed could ratchet up pressure on Trump by threatening to withhold Saudi investments.