‘Don’t embarrass our guest’: Trump jumps in after Saudi Arabia Crown Prince questioned on Jamal Khashoggi murder; MBS calls brutal killing ‘mistake’
US President Donald Trump stepped in sharply when a reporter questioned Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, urging the press not to “embarrass our guest” during the prince’s high-profile visit to Washington. The confrontation unfolded when a journalist from ABC News pressed both leaders on conflicts of interest, human rights concerns and US intelligence assessments linking the crown prince to Khashoggi’s killing.When the reporter asked whether it was appropriate for Trump’s family to conduct business in Saudi Arabia while he served as president, Trump questioned, “Now, who are you with?” on hearing the reply “ABC News” he retorted, “One of the worst … one of the worst in the business.” Trump insisted he had “nothing to do with the family business,” saying he left it behind to focus entirely on running the country. Any work his family undertook overseas, he said, was legitimate and successful, adding, “They’ve done very little with Saudi Arabia, actually … they could do a lot.”The 47th POTUS praised the crown prince saying that he has “done a phenomenal job” and knew “nothing” about Khashoggi’s killing. “You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” he said.The crown prince also responded to the question, beginning with the anger of 9/11 families. He said their pain was understandable but argued that Osama bin Laden deliberately used Saudis in the attacks to harm relations between Washington and Riyadh. “Whoever buys that is helping Osama bin Laden’s purpose of destroying this relation,” he said. Strong US-Saudi cooperation, the Crown Prince argued, was essential to defeating extremism and terrorism.Addressing Khashoggi’s murder directly, Mohammed bin Salman said it remained “painful” that anyone had “lost his life for no real purpose or not in a legal way.” He described the killing as a “huge mistake” and said Saudi Arabia had conducted investigations and reformed its systems to ensure such an incident “doesn’t happen again.”
Trump says Saudi crown prince ‘incredible in terms of human rights’
Trump also hailed Saudi Arabia’s human rights record calling the Crown Prince’s work ‘incredible’. “I’m very proud of the job he’s done. What he’s accomplished is incredible — in human rights and in other areas,” Trump added.The White House rolled out an elaborate reception, including cannon fire, a military flypast featuring F-35 fighters and a full ceremonial welcome on the South Lawn. Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays in the Saudi league, was also expected to join the day’s events.Trump hailed the kingdom as a “great ally,” touting $600bn in Saudi investment commitments in the United States and signalling that the figure “could go up a little bit higher.”He confirmed he would proceed with the sale of F-35 fighters to Riyadh, despite concerns in Washington and Israel about technology security and regional military balances. The visit will also see the signing of a framework for civilian nuclear cooperation and the announcement of new Saudi investment in US artificial intelligence infrastructure.Behind the pageantry, the two sides are expected to discuss security guarantees, regional tensions, the fragile post-war situation in Gaza and the long-term question of normalising relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel — a goal Trump has repeatedly pursued, though Riyadh insists progress on Palestinian statehood must come first.
