John,
Donald Trump just moved to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, and every part of this scheme reeks of corruption, danger, and contempt for democracy. These jets are some of the most advanced military assets on Earth. They should never be used as bargaining chips between a president desperate for foreign cash and a dictator eager to purchase influence inside the United States government.
Mohammed bin Salman is not an ally. He ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He directed a catastrophic war in Yemen that killed tens of thousands of civilians. He runs a regime without elections, without rights, and without accountability. Trump wants to reward that regime with cutting-edge American weaponry because it serves his political and personal interests, not America’s.
The danger goes far beyond one arms deal. Trump’s inner circle has deep financial ties to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, from Jared Kushner’s billion-dollar bailout to business deals that appear tailor-made to reward loyalty. Now, Trump is trying to turn U.S. foreign policy into a transactional marketplace where dictators can buy advanced weapons as long as they enrich him and his family.
Selling F-35 jets to MBS would entangle the United States with a regime that has bombed schools, blockaded food supplies, weaponized famine, and targeted dissidents around the world. It risks pulling America into new conflicts and hands a reckless autocrat new tools of destruction.
Tell Congress to introduce a Joint Resolution of Disapproval and block Trump’s corrupt F-35 sale to the Saudi dictatorship.
Saudi Arabia has a long documented record of misusing the U.S. weapons it already has. Hospitals, ports, weddings, and funerals have all been struck with American munitions. Adding F-35 jets to that arsenal would supercharge devastation while tying the United States to every strike and every civilian death that follows.
Congress has the power to stop this. A Joint Resolution of Disapproval can move quickly, bypass GOP leadership, and force an up-or-down vote on whether America hands its most advanced weapons to an authoritarian monarchy.
If lawmakers fail to act, Trump will take this as a green light to funnel even more arms, money, and political favors toward dictators who pay him back later.
A corrupt deal with a dictator cannot become U.S. policy. Tell Congress to block Trump’s F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia before it becomes law.
Let’s defend democracy and stop this corrupt arms deal.
- DFA AF Team
