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Leo Hohmann – Leo’s Newsletter Nov 18, 2025

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Many conservatives have expressed shock and dismay that President Donald Trump would speak so highly of an Islamic terrorist, calling him “good looking” and a “tough guy,” even inviting him to the White House.

They shouldn’t be surprised. For Trump, it’s all about business. And the lines between U.S. foreign policy and the Trump family business have increasingly been blurred the longer Trump has served in politics.

You want to know why President Trump invited former al-Qaida terrorist Muhammad al-Julani to the White House after he morphed from terror kingpin into Syrian head of state, having changed his name to Ahmed al-Sharaa, trimmed his beard and traded his keffiyeh for a Western suit? You want to know why the president agreed to lift sanctions on the Syrian regime led by Julani?

Clues to Trump’s bizarre embracing of the Syrian strongman are found in his business ties to Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis are the epicenter of global Sunni Islam, which is engaged in a centuries long bitter fued with Shia Islam, centered in Iran. The West has always courted the Sunnis and the East, led by Russia, sides with the Shia and Iran.

A U.S.-aided coup in Syria late last year ousted the secular Shia-supporting dictator Bashar al-Assad from Syria and replaced him with a Sunni dictator, Mr. Julani, who once led ISIS militants in the region and had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head.

Are things starting to make sense now? If not, stick with me, as it will become even clearer as to why Julani has suddenly gone from criminal terrorist to invited White House guest.

Trump was first introduced to Julani by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when Trump paid a visit to the Saudi capital of Riyadh in May 2025. You can see the three together in the photo below, which was posted to X by the White House press secretary.

Forbes has a new report out detailing the Trump family’s longtime business dealings with the Saudis. These relationships date back to 1987 but really gained steam following Trump’s first term in the White House.

Trump tweeted on October 16, 2018, one day after parroting a claim from Saudi Arabia’s king that he did not know what happened to murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, “I have no financial interests in Saudi Arabia (or Russia, for that matter). Any suggestion that I have is just more FAKE NEWS (of which there is plenty)!”

But Forbes brings the receipts, writing:

“Trump may not have had any interests in Saudi Arabia at the time, but he had done sporadic business with Saudi Arabia, offloading the Plaza Hotel to a Saudi prince in 1995 and selling a set of condos to the Saudi government in 2001. Trump’s ties to the Arab nation grew stronger in the wake of the Khashoggi murder, however, especially after his first term in office ended. Since then, the president and his family struck at least nine deals with Saudi investors, pushing millions into the president’s golf properties, tens of millions into his licensing business and billions into private-equity funds, according to Forbes calculations. In 2024 alone, Trump and his extended family collected an estimated $50 million from deals connected to Saudi Arabia.”

So there you have it. The Saudis, among the largest funders of Sunni Islamic terrorism worldwide, and the country that 17 of the 19 9/11 hijackers called home, are totally intertwined, businesswise, with the Trump family.

They sponsored Julani as the new Syrian leader and introduced him to their old friend Donald Trump.

Don’t think for a minute that the Trump family’s business relationships with the Saudis don’t give the Saudi royals leverage in the Middle East when it comes to U.S. foreign policy decisions.

In 2001, Trump sold the entire 45th floor of Trump World Tower, with five apartments and a combined 10,000 square feet near the United Nations, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for $12 million, according to an analysis of real estate records cited by Forbes.

Trump said at a campaign event in 2015, “Saudi Arabia, and I get along great with all of them, they buy apartments from me. Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much.”

On Monday, November 17, 2025, Trump announced the U.S. will be selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

Should we be surprised?

No more than we should be surprised that a terrorist is getting the royal treatment at the White House.

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