Trumpworld’s Growing Sway in Arms Sales on Display in Rome

In many respects, the 2026 African Land Forces Summit in Rome looked like any other US-led military conclave. The event was packed with men in uniform, chests plastered with medals and badges, shoulders weighed down by golden braids and epaulets. In a luxury hotel perched on a hill above the Vatican, the African representatives met with US and NATO counterparts for sessions on counterterrorism, training and coordination, and more than a few informal chats in the corridors.

But just outside the conference hall, the atmosphere at the March 22-24 conference had a different tone, reflecting the changing priorities of the White House. There were, of course, defense contractors selling drones, rifles, missile systems and other hardware, but those more traditional vendors were outnumbered by the kinds of businesses that have flocked to Trumpworld—cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, consulting and finance. “It’s very useful for us to have all of these companies here,” Capt. Esono Nchama, Inspector General of Equatorial Guinea’s Armed Forces, told Bloomberg Businessweek, scanning the crowd.