--- title: Trump Saudi Arabia Speech: Read Full Transcript Here description: President Donald Trump urged Muslims to target Islamic extremism during his speech in Saudi Arabia Sunday. Read his full remarks here canonical: https://time.com/4787609/donald-trump-saudi-arabia-speech-2/ copyright: © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All Rights Reserved. terms: https://legal.time.com/terms-of-service/ license_contact: syndication@time.com author: Jennifer Calfas article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-21T19:28:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:03:27.073Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read President Trump's Full Saudi Arabia Speech og:description: It was one of Trump's first speeches abroad while president og:url: https://time.com/4787609/donald-trump-saudi-arabia-speech-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a49461cc926bbe6/6988ce3886f68e54e06e4cdd/trump-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Arabic Islamic American Summit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read President Trump's Full Saudi Arabia Speech twitter:description: It was one of Trump's first speeches abroad while president twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a49461cc926bbe6/6988ce3886f68e54e06e4cdd/trump-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read President Trump's Full Saudi Arabia Speech > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=45c3cde6-b9d2-41e7-ac0f-6ed6a734cb2f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump: The Fight Against Terrorism Is a 'Battle Between Good and Evil' [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump: The Fight Against Terrorism Is a 'Battle Between Good and Evil'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/z3apzNXu.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2017-05-21. President Donald Trump called on Middle Eastern leaders to combat a "crisis of Islamic extremism" emanating from the region, casting the fight against terrorism as a "battle between good and evil," not a clash between the West and Islam._ by [Jennifer Calfas](https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas May 21, 2017 7:28 PM UTC President Donald Trump called on Middle Eastern leaders to combat a "crisis of Islamic extremism" emanating from the region, casting the fight against terrorism as a "battle between good and evil," not a clash between the West and Islam. by [Jennifer Calfas](https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas May 21, 2017 7:28 PM UTC [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4787527/donald-trump-saudi-arabia-speech-terrorism/) urged Muslims to combat a “crisis of Islamic extremism” and terrorism [during a speech in Saudi Arabia](http://time.com/4787548/donald-trump-islam-speech-saudi-arabia-moderate/?xid=homepage) Sunday during his first foreign trip as president. Trump, who spoke to Arab and Muslim leaders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, appeared to shift his tone from [past remarks on Muslims](http://time.com/4587915/donald-trump-muslim-registry/). Trump had previously blamed Muslims for the rise of extremist groups. But in his speech Sunday, Trump recognized the difference between “barbaric criminals” and “decent people” in Islam. “Drive them out,” said Trump of extremists. “Drive them out of your places of worship. Drive them out of your communities. Drive them out of your holy land, and drive them out of the earth.” Read Trump’s full remarks in the transcript below: --- > “” --- ## Transcript America is a sovereign nation and our first priority is always the safety and security of our citizens. We are not here to lecture. We are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be. Or how to worship, instead we are here to offer partnership based on shared interest and values. This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilizations, this is a battle Between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life and decent people all in the name of religion. People that want to protect life and want to protect their religion. This is a battle between good And evil. A better future is only possible if your nations drive out the terrorists and drive out the extremist. Drive the, out. Drive them out of your places of worship. Drive them out. Of your communities. Drive them out of your holy land and drive them out of this earth. Muslim nations must be willing to take on the burden if we are going to defeat terrorism and send its wicked ideology into oblivion. There is still much work to be done that means honestly confronting the crisis of Islamic extremism and the Islamists and Islamic terror of all kinds. 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