Donald Trump’s inability to understand numbers has struck again. The President, who was joined by the Saudi Arabian Prime Minister, claimed that the country was going to invest $1 trillion in the US. The 79-year-old’s ridiculous claim did not hold up.
Trump isn’t a stranger to being ridiculed for throwing far-fetched numbers around. He previously claimed that he would ensure that the prices of drugs go down by 500% without realizing what that implied.
If a commodity comes with a 100% discount, it essentially is free of cost. The President said the drug prices would be brought down by 500% which implied that people would get paid to buy the drugs instead.
Similarly, the President’s bizarre claims have not ceased. During a state dinner with Saudi Arabian Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Trump claimed that the country was going to make a gigantic investment in America.
Gigantic enough that it is highly unlikely to be true. Trump’s claims of Saudi Arabia bringing in a $1.1 trillion investment were quickly debunked if you take the country’s GDP into account.
The Middle Eastern country’s entire GDP is $1.1 trillion. The President did not bother to correct himself after pulling the number out of thin air. The claim was quickly called out by netizens who chimed in to express their skepticism. “Saudi’s entire sovereign wealth fund is just under $1 Trillion,” one user noted.
“Lie. Wait for it,” another added. “He also asked Superman to fetch him a piece of the moon, and he is expecting it by dinner tonight,” a third sarcastically added to ridicule the 79-year-old.
Several others asked for “proof” and “receipts” for the same. While others were keen on knowing what Saudi Arabia was getting in return for the investment. “So the art of the deal. What does Saudi Arabia get in return?” one user questioned.
At the same state dinner, Trump announced that Saudi Arabia to be a “major non-NATO ally.” The agreement will surely prove beneficial for both countries when it comes to defense trade and security cooperation.
Other major non-NATO allies of the US are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, and New Zealand. Prince Mohammed chimed in to talk about how the America-Saudi Arabia relations have been fortified over time.
“We’ve been since the last nine decades working together in many areas,” the royal noted. At the same time, Trump spoke about how he hoped the prince would get on board for the Board of Peace for Gaza. “You’ll accept, I hope,” the 79-year-old noted.
