The iconic red MAGA hat has arrived in the Gulf. It is quite telling that the cap—so often mocked in liberal circles in Europe and the United States—appears to have found a following on the shores of the Arabian Gulf (as President Donald Trump recently announced he plans to officially rename it). The hat with the bold, white letters of ‘Make America Great Again’ is not a joke in the region; it is a quiet affirmation of the underlying principles of the MAGA agenda. Stripped of American provincialism, it resonates with the Gulf political mindset. So, when the President embarks on his first overseas trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week, he will find loyal emissaries in Riyadh, Doha, and Abu Dhabi.
After four years of geriatric US “leadership” in the region, which was neither liberal nor conservative, neither interests- nor value-based, the Gulf states have been yearning for a bit of—albeit often performative—strongman-ship that Trump delivers. More than that, MAGA appears to outline a simple and predictable formula for US foreign and security policy. The foreign policy “restrainers” among Trump’s MAGA followers disdain global entanglements, reject foreign commitments, and view alliances through a purely transactional lens. Paradoxically, therein lies the appeal for the Gulf.
Interests Over Values
At the heart of the MAGA worldview is a redefinition of “realism” to one that sees multilateral institutions as potential traps, soft power as a luxury, and foreign partnerships as patron-client relations in which the client has to pay his way. While the Gulf states loathe being reduced to merely being America’s cash machine, they too, have developed an approach to statecraft in recent years that primarily revolves around maslaha—interests. Stratifications, though, exist in the Gulf—between the Machiavellian Abu Dhabi at one end of the spectrum and the more multilaterally focused Kuwait at the other end.
On alliances, the congruence is striking. The MAGA agenda demands allies “pay up”—a transactional view that rewards both utility and loyalty—even if utility is not always measured materially. That is exactly how the tribal monarchies of the Gulf manage their relationships. Tribal affairs are built around strategic pragmatism and deal-making. Gulf states do not trade specifically on shared values. They trade on leverage.
Trump’s transactionalism finds a natural home in the Gulf. The premise is simple: you get what you pay for. There is no pretence of shared destiny, values, or ideals. In the MAGA system, influence in Washington and American protectionism are explicitly priced. The hefty price tags of MAGA’s pay-to-play system are not viewed with cynicism in the Gulf. To the contrary, they are viewed as a refreshingly honest arrangement in a world where US foreign policy is too often cloaked in the language of virtue but in reality is driven by veiled hard interests.
Non-Interference
Moreover, both MAGA and Gulf leaders see themselves on the same side of a culture war against the “woke industrial complex.” Gulf rulers from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi, view the spread of overly progressive Western norms—especially around diversity, equity, and inclusion—as morally self-righteous crusades that divert necessary bandwidth away from more pressing issues of survival.
On national sovereignty, both camps are absolutist. The Trump administration views ‘globalist initiatives’ as infringements on American liberty. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) integration has stalled for the same reason: sovereignty trumps supranational oversight. In both Washington and Gulf capitals, sovereignty is sacrosanct—not to be bartered for multilateral, regulatory mechanisms.
The Art of the Deal
But the clearest overlap between MAGA and Gulf leaders might be the shared belief in deterrence without quagmire. MAGA advocates for the selective use of military force—to strike, punish, and withdraw. Trump’s recent limited US military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen is a case in point. The military is merely a tool to deter encroachments on core national interests. Crises and conflicts are solved at the negotiation table. Trump’s ‘Art of the Deal’ pragmatism practised by his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has been music to the ears of leaders in Doha, Riyadh, and Muscat—especially since Saudi Arabia learned its lessons after costly years of military adventures in Yemen.
Neo-conservative US adventurism following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq has left the region in tatters. Washington had use its Gulf partners to help mediate its way out of the muddles. Qatar has been a chief US broker in Afghanistan, Gaza, Syria, and Iran. Saudi Arabia is hosting talks between Washington and Moscow while opening up to Tehran. Oman just secured a ceasefire for Trump with the Houthi militia that has been targeting international shipping around Yemen. All the Gulf countries are offering their networks to the White House in securing a new Iran nuclear deal.
And while the Gulf states help MAGA to get out of quagmires, MAGA proponents have become ever more conscious that Israeli leaders tend to drag Washington right back into regional escalation. Chief among these has been Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is on the record having lobbied American neo-conservatives to go to war with Iraq and Iran since the 1990s. Israel’s regional agenda increasingly clashes with the MAGA agenda—just as it clashes with the Gulf states’ pragmatic vision for regional integration. Although rattled to differing degrees by Iran’s proxy networks in the region, the Gulf monarchies are conscious of their geography and prefer engagement and interdependence rather than confrontation.
For the Gulf Arab states, an American age of retrenchment is far better than a White House using an extended screwdriver to micromanage regional affairs remotely without sufficiently guaranteeing the security of US partners. Trump offers opportunities for Gulf states to strategically invest in the US military-industrial complex, enabling Washington to lead from behind. Meanwhile, partners in the GCC remain dependent on the American security umbrella, which helps them adjust to conflict and instability in the region.
So, yes, the Gulf states are America’s most MAGA-aligned partners, not because they necessarily share Trump’s rhetoric—but because they share some of his instincts. The MAGA hat is a nod to a worldview that speaks the Gulf language: pragmatism, sovereignty, and pay-to-play transactionalism.
The views expressed in this publication are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Arab Center Washington DC, its staff, or its Board of Directors.
Featured image credit: SPA
