How much did Mideast countries promise to invest in the US Trump keeps jacking up the number

    Washington, May 20 (AP) President Donald Trump loves big numbers — and he's always happy to talk them up.
    Trump, who coined the phrase “truthful hyperbole” in his book “The Art of the Deal,” over the last few days has been steadily increasing the amount of money he says that countries in the Mideast pledged to invest in the U.S. when he visited the region last week. He didn't provide underlying details.
    The figure has gone from USD 2 trillion last week to potentially as much as USD 7 trillion as of Tuesday, according to statements by Trump and the White House.
    A look at how the number has bounced around:
    THURSDAY: With his Mideast trip still under way, Trump told reporters on Air Force One: “We just took in USD 4 trillion.”
    FRIDAY: A White House statement said Trump's “first official trip was a huge success, locking in over USD 2 trillion in great deals.”
    MONDAY: “We brought back about USD 5.1 trillion," Trump said in remarks to the Kennedy Center's leadership. “That's not bad. And, it's being credited as one of the, maybe, the most successful visit that anybody's ever made to any place. There's never been anything like this.”
    TUESDAY: “They're spending USD 5.1 trillion, probably it's going to be USD 7 trillion by the time we stop,” Trump said before a U.S. Capitol meeting with Republican House members.
    TUESDAY: “You know, we took in USD 5.1 trillion in the last four days from the Middle East,” Trump said later in the afternoon in the Oval Office.
    The White House did not respond to a request to explain the sources of Trump's escalating claims.
    The White House did provide a breakdown on the USD 2 trillion in its Friday statement. It included $600 billion in investment from Saudi Arabia, which the country announced in January as part of a four-year commitment. There would also be a USD 1.2 trillion economic exchange with Qatar, as well as USD 243.5 billion in commercial and defense deals with that country. The United Arab Emirates committed to USD 200 billion in deals with the U.S., putting the initial White House total at USD 2.24 trillion, provided all those commitments are actually fulfilled.
    Not all of the investment commitments or promised jobs are sure to materialize, so the final tally might not be as much as promised.
    Trump said in 2017 that the electronics manufacturer Foxconn would build a USD 10 billion factory in Wisconsin employing 13,000 people, only for the company to back down from that commitment in 2019. (AP) HIG
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)