Trump Asks Saudi Crown Prince, "How Do You Sleep At Night?" His Response

US President Donald Trump had an unusual question for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he praised him for making Riyadh a major world business center. Addressing a gathering of the world's business elite in Riyadh, Trump asked Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler if he slept at night, praising him for overcoming criticism and building his country into a powerful business hub.

"Mohammed, do you sleep at night? How do you sleep? What a job. He tosses and turns like some of us, tosses and turns all night...How do I make it better?' It's the ones who don't toss and turn, they're the ones who will never take you to the promised land," Trump said as he kicked off the first major overseas trip of his second term.

The glowing praise earned Trump a laugh from bin Salman and a standing ovation from the audience.

Further expressing his admiration for Saudi Arabia's transformation under MBS's leadership, 78-year-old American leader said, "Critics doubted it (Saudi's rise) was possible, what you've done, but over the past eight years. Saudi Arabia has proved the critics totally wrong...I like him a lot. I like him too much,"

'How do you sleep at night? You toss and turn all night'

This is how Trump praises MBS for his leadership in the Middle East pic.twitter.com/qSowfjXTd1

— RT (@RT_com) May 13, 2025

Marking his commitment to a "close relationship" between the US and Saudi Arabia, Trump announced he was lifting sanctions on Syria at the request of MBS and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and said, "Oh, what I do for the crown prince."

He further described the kingdom as "the center of the world" in a speech that made no mention of human rights concerns in the country, including the 2018 killing of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. While bin Salman has denied involvement in Khashoggi's murder and pointed to reforms such as expanding women's rights as evidence of progress, analysts said these changes were undercut by continued crackdowns on dissent and political freedoms.

What Trump Wants From Saudi

Trump's and MBS's relationship remains anchored in shared interests-- the US President is chasing major economic wins and a revived American role in the region, while bin Salman seeks access to advanced technology, military support and a powerful ally in his push to modernise Saudi Arabia and assert regional leadership.

At the summit, Trump touted a $142 billion defence agreement and a sweeping $600 billion Saudi investment package spanning artificial intelligence, infrastructure and energy.

Trump's ties with the crown prince have sparked criticism from US lawmakers, human rights groups and foreign policy analysts for what they viewed as prioritising economic interests over human rights.

Shift From Biden Era

It was a stark contrast from the Joe Biden era, who in 2019 promised to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" on the world stage for Khashoggi's killing and its broader human rights record. But geopolitical realities, such as skyrocketing oil prices caused in part by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, highlighted a need for cooperation between Washington and Riyadh.

That led Biden to decide it was time to reset the strategic relationship, and he eventually visited the crown prince in July 2022. The two men greeted each other with a fist bump, which drew some criticism as an overly friendly gesture given human rights concerns. White House aides insisted it was a way to lower Biden's risk of contracting COVID-19.