Trump voices shocking remark at Saudi Crown Prince – ‘kissing my a**’ | World | News

Donald Trump sparked an awkward moment for Saudi Arabian officials when he appeared to mock Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an address. On Saturday (March 28), while speaking at the Saudi-backed investment forum, FII Priority Summit, the US President shared details of a recent encounter with the country’s leadership, using the moment to highlight how he believes global perceptions of the US have changed under his presidency.

Mr Trump described how the US had been viewed as a « dead country » before becoming the « hottest country in the world ». He then said officials should tell Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, who also serves as Prime Minister, to « be nice » to him, before using a crude remark suggesting that the leader had underestimated him. « What a man he is […] When I was there, we bonded, » the President said, adding that the Crown Prince would « grab my arm to get up » and that « I think he likes me. And he did like me, and he still likes me. »

Mr Trump then turned to what he said was a recent exchange, claiming the Saudi Crown Prince had praised the US’s turnaround since his re-election in 2025: « He looked at me and he said, you know, it’s amazing. One year ago you were a dead country. Now you’re the hottest country anywhere in the world, » he said. « And that was before we beat the hell out of Iran. »

« He did not think this was going to happen. He didn’t think he would be kissing my a**. He really didn’t. He thought [I] would be just another American president that was a loser, with a country going downhill. But now he has to be nice to me,” Mr Trump said in comments that have since gone viral.

The forum where the US leader spoke draws business leaders and political figures and is organised by a group affiliated with Saudi Arabia’s $1trillion (£750 billion) Public Investment Fund, which aims to promote investment opportunities in the Middle East kingdom.

Mr Trump’s remarks about Crown Prince Salman came just days after a New York Times report claimed that Saudi Arabia had been in constant contact with the US, urging it to continue strikes on Iran and describing the conflict as a « historic opportunity » to reshape the region.

Mr Trump went on to claim that the US is very close to changing Iran’s regime. This comes a day after he extended the deadline for talks with Iran, also delaying plans to strike the country’s power infrastructure until April 6. Iranian officials continue to deny that formal talks are underway, despite Mr Trump repeatedly claiming that Tehran is seeking negotiations.

“We’re closer than ever to the rise of the Middle East that is finally free, at last, from Iranian terror aggression and nuclear blackmail,” he said, according to Bloomberg. “For 47 years, Iran has been known as the bully of the Middle East, but they are not the bully any longer. They’re on the run.”

“We saved not just Israel, we saved the Middle East and it was proven by all those rockets that fired down upon you. Saudi Arabia got hit a lot,” Trump added, citing retaliatory drone and missile strikes from Iran on Gulf allies. Iranian strikes have reportedly targeted key Saudi energy infrastructure, including the Ras Tanura refinery and the Shaybah oil field, which has a production capacity of around one million barrels of crude per day.

Mr Trump also insisted that any peace deal would require Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route. “We’re negotiating now […] but they have to open it up,” he said, before jokingly referring to it as the “Strait of Trump” – a remark he later brushed off by saying, “there’s no accidents with me ».