Trump dials back Islam critique as he basks in Saudi deals

On the second day of his inaugural foreign trip, where he’s been hailed by Arab leaders as a “dear brother” and a man with “unique personality,” Trump told Muslim allies on Sunday not to wait for U.S. help to crush terror groups. The focus of Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia is shifting to politics, a day after major U.S. companies signed multi-billion dollar deals in the defense, energy and infrastructure industries. During last year’s presidential campaign and in his first months in office, Trump railed against “radical Islamic terrorism” and sought to temporarily ban people from various Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. Sitting next to El-Sisi at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh in the morning, Trump praised the Egyptian leader for what he said were successful efforts to fight terrorism under “trying circumstances.” Later, sitting next to Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Trump said the two would discuss “the purchase of lots of beautiful military equipment, because nobody makes it like the United States.” The grand reception in Riyadh reflected a desire by Gulf Arab leaders to reset relations with the U.S. after eight years of frosty ties with President Barack Obama, who made reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran a center theme of his presidency. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, in a joint news conference with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Saturday, played down the suggestion that the reelection of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would help improve ties.