President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when asked in the Oval Office about CIA findings that concluded the royal approved the killing of journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Responding to a question about the CIA assessment, Trump described Khashoggi as “extremely controversial,” adding, “a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen, but he knew nothing about it. And would you leave it at that? You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question.”
US intelligence agencies determined that the crown prince approved the operation that killed and dismembered Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Mohammad bin Salman has repeatedly denied prior knowledge and has called the killing “heinous” and “unjustifiable.”
Crown Prince Says System Has Improved After “Huge Mistake”
Addressing the matter in the Oval Office, the crown prince said Saudi Arabia has strengthened its internal processes to prevent similar incidents.
“We improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that,” he said. “And it’s painful, and it’s a huge mistake, and we are doing our best that this doesn’t happen again.”
Donald Trump Dismisses Conflict of Interest Questions
Trump also brushed aside suggestions that his family’s business ties to Saudi Arabia could create a conflict of interest during his presidency.
He insisted he had “nothing to do” with the Trump Organization after entering office and said that while he helped build a successful enterprise, he “decided to leave that success behind and make America very successful.”
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Donald Trump-Saudi Crown Prince Discuss Trillion-Dollar Investment
Both leaders emphasized the economic partnership between the two nations, highlighting large-scale U.S. investment agreements.
Following Trump’s 2017 visit to Riyadh, the White House announced that Saudi Arabia had committed to investing $600 billion in the United States. On Tuesday, Salman said the kingdom plans to exceed that amount.
“We are going to increase that $600 billion to almost $1 trillion of investment, real investment and real opportunity,” he said, referring to deals largely tied to technology sectors including artificial intelligence. It remains unclear whether the $1 trillion refers to direct Saudi investment or a projected valuation of future deals. The crown prince has consistently emphasized Saudi Arabia’s interest in AI.
F-35 Deal
Trump and Salman also reaffirmed their intention for the U.S. to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Trump expressed confidence that Israel “will be very happy” with the agreement, despite longstanding concerns about maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge.
Trump added he could “eventually” envision a formal civil nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia, though noted “it’s not urgent.”
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
