Qatar: Where American Presidents Go to Grovel

Trump wins gold for corruption, but sucking up to these sheiks is nothing new

It is true that President Donald Trump just completed a visit to Qatar that might have set a new standard for shameful and unapologetic self-dealing.

He’d already sold what passes for his soul for a $400 million aircraft and probably left his meeting in Qatar with those fat pockets lined with more – likely in bitcoin. The most sympathetic take is that Trump acted after one of his boys got into a “my dad’s airplane is bigger than your dad’s airplane” argument with a sheikh’s kid.

But before we Trump haters get all giddy, it’s worth noting that Trump essentially put the touch of a criminal mind on a decades-old pattern of grossness by U.S. presidents of both parties in dealing with the tiny – but filthy, filthy rich – nation of Qatar. Call it a row of glass White Houses.

For perspective, Qatar sits on a land mass less than half the size of New Hampshire and a population just slightly larger than the St. Louis area. But on that little slice of the Arabian Dream lies the world's third-largest supply of natural gas and oil reserves.

So, this Jed Clampett of the Gulf was ranked in a recent decade as the world’s fastest growing economy and currently has the 4th largest GDP per capita in the world. And it’s one serious trading partner of the U.S.

Thus, it has to come to pass that American presidents are drawn to Qatar like Pete Hegseth to a cheap liquor store. And they seem to find a way to check at least some principles at the door to the palace.

One interesting travelogue fact about Qatar is that it’s the home to Al Jazeera – Arabic and English versions – and has been since its founding in 1996 in Doha. Fine with me, but here’s guessing the network hasn’t shown up on many presidents’ itineraries for drop-by studio interviews when visiting sheiks down the street.

All recent presidents – and both political parties – have customarily remained quite respectful of Qatar’s not-so-great domestic policies. To be fair, Qatar is nowhere near the worst in the world, but criticism of the emir is outlawed, as are same-sex relations of any kind (punishable by up to three years in prison).

And, perhaps of more interest to Trump, a conviction for "illicit relations" — meaning sex outside marriage — can lead to a prison sentence in Qatar of up to seven years for women, according to ABC Australia. Not sure if the penalty applies to men. Still the “Access Hollywood” tapes cannot possibly translate well there.

In President George W. Bush’s case, Qatar was considered an important post-9/11 ally, so it made sense to have good relations. But even that far back, Qatar was known by our government as a friend and host of Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah and Iran and in the mid-90s, 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was a former (and allegedly protected) resident. And Bush and company really despised Al Jazeera.

So there was some nose-holding there, as with President Barack Obama, who perhaps struck the best balancing act with Qatar against a backdrop of facing partisan attacks at home no matter what he did. Obama reportedly enlisted Qatar as an intermediary where helpful, but that meant looking the other way about Qatar’s persistent support of Hamas and Syrian militants and its hostility to Egypt.

As to President Joe Biden, he continued the tradition of ignoring Qatar’s terrorist friendships in declaring “major not-NATO ally status” to the nation. But Biden being Biden, he left himself open to the appearance of uncomfortable family financial ties to Qatar on the part of his brother, Jim Biden. There was no there there, or his Republican tormenters would have nailed him, but an unforced error in any event.

There is zero evidence that either Presidents George W. Bush or Barack Obama were informed by any personal interest whatsoever. I suppose they just showed flexibility in their policy positions with this tiny place while glossing over the obvious financial motives of the U.S.

But America hasn’t exactly held seminars on democracy in Qatar. You think any other nations – friend or foe – might have noticed that?

As for Trump, it’s hardly a surprise that he moved U.S. relations from uneasy to sleazy. He is who he is. And if that doesn’t embarrass you, what can be said?

At least he wasn’t the first to grovel.