Our great friend, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, visited the White House, and it did not disappoint. MBS was there to reaffirm the kingdom’s commitment to the United States, adding that his nation will invest $1 trillion with the United States. It was also vintage Trump as he sparred with the media over this relationship. Also, the media is once again obsessed with the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Sorry, I don’t care. We got $1 trillion worth of investment, and only a fool would turn that down because some journalist who was causing trouble got chopped up (via Axios):
President Trump said "a lot of people didn't like" journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a Tuesday meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).
Why it matters: The 2018 murder of Khashoggi was among the reasons for heightened tension between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia during the Biden administration, which released a report in 2021 that concluded MBS approved the order to "capture or kill" the Saudi journalist.
Saudi officials rejected the report's findings, calling it a "negative, false and unacceptable assessment."
The latest: "You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial," Trump said in the Oval Office.
"About the journalist, it's really painful to hear anyone losing his life for no real purpose or not in a legal way," MBS said. "And it's been painful for us in Saudi Arabia. We did all the right steps of investigation, et cetera, in Saudi Arabia. And we've improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that."
"A lot of people didn't like [him]”—what a line.
And ABC News’ Mary Bruce opted to put her head in the lion’s mouth with these questions (via ABC News):
President Trump on Tuesday called for ABC News to lose its license after one of its reporters peppered him with Oval Office questions — including whether his family’s business dealings with Saudi Arabia constituted a conflict of interest.
ABC’s Mary Bruce used Trump’s meeting with the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to also ask about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“People are wise to your hoax,” Trump said. “Your crappy company is one of the perpetrators.
“And I’ll tell you something, I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and is so wrong. And we have a great commissioner, a chairman, who should look at that,” he added.
Ultimately, he answered the question, explaining that he was not involved with the Trump Organization any longer to make overseas business decisions.
At the State Dinner, Trump announced that Saudi Arabia has been formally designated a major non-NATO ally. They will also be purchasing F-35 fighter jets. Elon Musk was spotted at the event.
Trump also showed MBS the Biden autopen portrait on the Presidential Wall of Fame.