As Vice President JD Vance tries to clean up Donald Trump’s power mess in IranSecretary of State marcorubio He has just completed a comparatively more comfortable task: reassuring the wealthy Gulf states that everything is under control.
It’s a serious matter, so it was a surprise when the president’s son-in-law… Michael BoulosTiffany Trump’s husband, was seen with Rubio’s entourage at an official meeting with a Middle Eastern head of state.
Boulous, a Lebanese-American businessman and son of a senior advisor for Arab and African affairs. Massad Bouloshe was seated next to Rubio during a Wednesday meeting with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Most critically, Boulous himself holds no official position in the government and has been accused of taking advantage of their ties to the Trumps for financial gain in the past.
“We discussed President Trump’s MOU with Iranefforts to ensure complete and safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz and regional stability,” Rubio wrote in a social media post, which showed a photo of him and Boulos sitting in the center of the conference table in front of the UAE delegation. “I thanked the UAE leadership for their unparalleled support, praised their courage and resilience in the face of Iran’s attacks, and reaffirmed our commitment to the security of the Emirates and to our strong bilateral partnership.”
When asked by reporters what role the president’s son-in-law had in these high-stakes conversations (particularly given his status as a high-end private businessman without a government job), Rubio deflected.
“He was there to see his brother who lives here,” Rubio said. “He was only here because his brother lives here and I’m good friends with Michael, so we had a chance to catch up.”
Boulos’ brother Fares is an Afrobeats DJ and aspiring actor.
There is another, perhaps more plausible, reason for Boulos’ presence at the meeting. Trump’s most prominent son-in-law, Jared Kushner, husband of Ivanka Trump, has made untold millions cultivate lucrative business ties, primarily through government-backed crypto ventures and real estate development projects, across the Gulf region after serving as a senior advisor during Trump’s first term. Kushner is now one of the lead negotiators in talks with Iran despite continuing to maintain potentially conflicting financial interests across the region.
Boulos may be looking to develop his own connections to the Middle East, and the federal government appears to be accommodating him.
