President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed United States intelligence findings that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely had some fault in the 2018 killing of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi as Trump warmly invited the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia on his very first White House see in 7 years.
The US-Saudi relationship had, for a time, been sent out into a tailspin by the operation targeting Khashoggi, a strong critic of the kingdom.
7 years later on, the dark clouds over the relationship have actually been cleared away. And Trump is tightening his welcome of the 40-year-old crown prince, who he stated is an important gamer in forming the Middle East in the years to come.
Trump in his defense of the crown prince derided Khashoggi as “very questionable” and stated “a great deal of individuals didn’t like that gentleman.” Prince Mohammed rejects participation in the killing of Khashoggi, who was a Saudi person and Virginia homeowner.
“Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things occur,” Trump stated of the global occurrence when inquired about it by a press reporter throughout an Oval Office look with Prince Mohammed. “But (Prince Mohammed) understood absolutely nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You do not need to humiliate our visitor by asking a concern like that.” United States intelligence authorities figured out that the Saudi crown prince most likely authorized the killing by Saudi representatives of US-based reporter inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to United States findings declassified in 2021 at the start of the Biden administration. Trump authorities, throughout his very first administration, declined to launch the report.
Prince Mohammed stated Saudi Arabia “did all the ideal actions” to examine Khashoggi’s death.
“It’s unpleasant and it’s a big error,” he stated.
Trump, who stated the 2 leaders have actually ended up being “buddies,” even commended the Saudi leader for strides made by the kingdom on human rights without providing any specific detail.
“What’s he done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else,” Trump stated.
New financial investment from Saudis
The crown prince for his part revealed Saudi Arabia was increasing its scheduled financial investments in the United States to $1 trillion, up from $600 billion that the Saudis revealed they would put into the United States when Trump checked out the kingdom in May.
Echoing rhetoric that Trump likes to utilize, the crown prince utilized the minute to flatter the Republican leader by calling the United States the “most popular nation in the world” for foreign investment.
“What you’re creating is not about an opportunity today. It’s also about long term opportunity,” Prince Mohammed said.
Trump’s family has a strong personal interest in the kingdom. In September, London real estate developer Dar Global announced that it plans to launch Trump Plaza in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
It’s Dar Global’s second collaboration with the Trump Organisation, the collection of companies controlled by the US president’s children, in Saudi Arabia.
Trump pushed back on suggestions that there could be a conflict of interest in his family’s dealings with the Saudis.
“I have nothing to do with the family business,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments about Khashoggi’s and defense of his family’s business in Saudi Arabia were blasted by human rights and government oversight activists.
Human rights groups say Saudi authorities continue to harshly repress dissent, including by arresting human rights defenders, journalists, and political dissidents for criticism against the kingdom. They also note a surge in executions in Saudi Arabia that they connect to an effort to suppress internal dissent.
“President Trump has Jamal Khashoggi’s blood on his hands,” said Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for DAWN, a US-based group advocating for democracy and human rights in the Arab world that was founded by Khashoggi. Jarrar added, “Trump has made himself complicit in every execution and imprisonment MBS has ordered since.”
Rolling out the red carpet
Trump warmly got Prince Mohammed when he reached the White House Tuesday early morning for a pomp-filled arrival event that consisted of a military flyover and a rumbling welcoming from the United States Marine band.
Technically, it’s not a state see, since the crown prince is not the president. Prince Mohammed has actually taken charge of the everyday governing for his daddy, King Salman, 89, who has actually withstood health issues in current years.
Trump revealed the prince the newly-installed Presidential Walk of Fame that includes gold-framed pictures of previous presidents along the West Wing pillars and a picture of an autopen signing the name of Biden in location of the Democrat’s main picture.
Later on, Trump and very first woman Melania Trump invited the crown prince for a black-tie supper in the White House East Room. The boldface names who went to consisted of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, tech business owner Elon Musk and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Trump at the supper revealed he was designating Saudi Arabia as a significant non-NATO ally as the administration intends to raise the 2 countries’ military relationship. The classification, while mainly symbolic, supplies foreign partners with particular advantages in the locations of defense, trade and security cooperation.
Trump and Prince Mohammed will go to a financial investment top at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday that will consist of the heads of Salesforce, Qualcomm, Pfizer, the Cleveland Clinic, Chevron and Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s nationwide oil and gas business, where much more handle the Saudis might be revealed.
Fighter jets and company offers
On the eve of Prince Mohammed’s arrival, Trump revealed he has actually accepted offer the Saudis F-35 fighter jets regardless of some issues within the administration that the sale might cause China accessing to the United States innovation behind the sophisticated weapon system. The White House revealed the 2 leaders formalized the F-35 arrangement Tuesday along with an offer for the Saudis to buy almost 300 tanks from the United States.
They likewise signed contracts representing closer cooperation on capital markets and crucial minerals markets, along with efforts versus cash laundering and terrorist funding.
Trump’s statement on the fighter jets was unexpected due to the fact that some in the Republican administration have actually bewared about distressing Israel’s qualitative military edge over its neighbours, particularly at a time when Trump is depending upon Israeli assistance for the success of his Gaza peace strategy.
Abraham Accord talks
The go to comes at a minute when Trump is attempting to push the Saudis towards normalising relations with Israel.
The president in his very first term had actually assisted create industrial and diplomatic ties in between Israel and Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates through an effort called the Abraham Accords.
Trump sees growth of the accords as vital to his wider efforts to develop stability in the Middle East after the two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Getting Saudi Arabia– the biggest Arab economy and the birth place of Islam– to sign on would stimulate a cause and effect, he argues.
The Saudis have actually kept that a course towards Palestinian statehood should initially be developed before stabilizing relations with Israel can be thought about. The Israelis stay steadfastly opposed to the development of a Palestinian state.
“We wish to belong to the Abraham Accords, however we desire likewise to be sure that we protect a clear course of a two-state option,” Prince Mohammed stated.
Released on November 19, 2025
