Trump Touts Lebanon Ambassador Nom, Says Administration Will Work Towards Creating 'Productive Partnership'

Speaking at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, President Trump spoke about his administration's efforts to develop Lebanon.

Transcript

00:00Badly, it's horrible. After years of suffering, two of the nations most ravaged by terror

00:07are finally beginning to end their long nightmares under the new generation of leaders. In Lebanon,

00:14where a friend of mine has just become the ambassador, he's going to be great. I said,

00:19you know, that could be a very dangerous job. He said, I was born there. I'm Lebanese. I love

00:24that country. I said, but it's very dangerous. You know, this is a friend of mine from New

00:29York. I said, but it's very dangerous. Are you sure you want to do it? I never thought of him as being

00:35a warrior, but he is a warrior. He loves his country. He said, if I'm injured or die, I'm dying

00:42for a country that I love. He grew up there. It's horrible what's happened in Lebanon, but you have

00:47a great ambassador, I can tell you that. In Lebanon, which has been endlessly victimized by Hezbollah

00:54and their sponsor, Iran, a new president and prime minister, brought the first real chance in decades

01:01for a more productive partnership with the United States. And we're going to work with

01:05their new ambassador and everybody else, Marco, and we're going to see if we can really help them out

01:10and let them get over that very high grid that they're going to have to get over. My administration

01:17stands ready to help Lebanon create a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors.

01:23They have tremendous people in Lebanon, doctors, lawyers, great professional people. I hear it so

01:29many times. Likewise.