US President Donald Trump defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, asserting that the crown prince “knew nothing” about the murder during a White House meeting on Tuesday. Trump’s remarks contradicted a US intelligence assessment that had implicated Mohammed bin Salman in the operation.
Trump made the comments in the Oval Office while hosting the Saudi de facto ruler, his first visit to the US since the assassination. When a reporter asked about the killing, Trump responded by saying, “You’re mentioning someone that was extremely controversial,” and added, “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.” He emphasized that the crown prince was unaware of the events and told the reporter not to embarrass their guest.
The 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul sent shockwaves through international relations. A US intelligence report released in 2021 under President Joe Biden determined that Mohammed bin Salman had approved the plan to “capture or kill” Khashoggi. However, the Trump administration had previously declined to release this report, and Saudi Arabia rejected the findings as “negative, false and unacceptable.”
Mohammed bin Salman, for his part, denied any wrongdoing and stated that Saudi Arabia “did all the right things” to investigate the death, which he described as “painful” and a “huge mistake.” While dozens of Saudi officials faced sanctions in the wake of the assassination, none directly targeted the crown prince. The meeting marked a significant step in rehabilitating his image on the global stage.
The discussions between Trump and bin Salman focused on strengthening bilateral ties, with deals on civilian nuclear power, artificial intelligence, and increased Saudi investment in the US. The crown prince announced that Saudi investment would be raised to $1 trillion from $600 billion pledged earlier, highlighting the economic dimensions of the relationship and bin Salman’s praise for Trump’s policies creating “long-term opportunity.”
A key topic was the potential sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, which Trump said was underway with US defense giant Lockheed Martin. This has raised concerns in Israel, which currently is the only Middle Eastern nation operating F-35s and fears it could undermine its “qualitative military edge.” Trump assured that the models sold to Saudi Arabia would be broadly similar to those used by Israel, stating both allies should get “top of the line” equipment.
In response to the events, Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, who lives in the Washington DC area after being granted political asylum, called on the crown prince to apologize and compensate her for her husband’s murder. She posted on social media that there was “no justification” for the killing and urged a direct meeting to address the issue.
The visit continues with a gala dinner and an investment summit, signaling a normalization of relations despite the controversy. Trump’s defense of Mohammed bin Salman marks a shift from the Biden administration’s stance, which had vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over human rights issues, though Biden later engaged with the kingdom on other matters, reflecting the complex dynamics of US-Saudi diplomacy.
