Trump Lauds M.B.S. During White House Visit and Dismisses Khashoggi’s Killing

President Trump rejected a U.S. intelligence report finding that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the murder of a journalist.

President Trump welcomed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s autocratic leader, to the White House on Tuesday, hailing him as a protector of human rights and a frequent phone friend. And in a remarkable Oval Office outburst, Mr. Trump defended him against a U.S. intelligence report that he had ordered the murder of a journalist.

It was a chummy scene that underscored the president’s desire to maintain strong relations with Saudi Arabia during a tumultuous period in the Middle East. Mr. Trump’s defense of his guest obscured the crown prince’s role in cracking down on domestic dissent and in the killing and dismemberment of a Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, in 2018.

“We’ve been really good friends for a long period of time,” Mr. Trump told reporters, cabinet officials and members of the Saudi delegation who had gathered there. “We’ve always been on the same side of every issue.”

The 42-minute appearance contained plenty of talk about business deals and diplomatic partnerships, as well as a presidential fit over pointed questions from reporters that was striking even for Mr. Trump, who is no stranger to televised dramatics. As he berated a reporter for asking about Mr. Khashoggi’s murder and about people who have accused the Saudi government of supporting the hijackers behind the Sept. 11 attacks, Mr. Trump brushed off the killing, appearing even more agitated about the question than his guest of honor.

“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. Khashoggi. Mr. Trump defended the crown prince, who sat next to him, looking down and inspecting his hands: “Whether you like him, or didn’t like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”

Throughout their joint appearance, Mr. Trump seemed more interested in producing a smooth, lavish visit that could pave the way for up to $1 trillion of Saudi investment into the United States than the implications of the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies. During the Biden administration, U.S. intelligence officials released a report that determined that the crown prince had ordered Mr. Khashoggi’s killing, but declined to take direction against the crown prince. Prince Mohammed has denied his involvement.

Similarly, during his first term, Mr. Trump had defended President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who denied to Mr. Trump that his government had any involvement in meddling in the 2016 election, despite the findings of the U.S. intelligence agencies.

“I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia,” Mr. Trump said at the time.

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump heaped praise and state-dinner-style honors upon the crown prince, whom he has long treated like a business partner instead of a pariah. When his guest arrived at the southern entrance of the White House, military officers on horseback trotted across the drive, flying Saudi and American flags. The treatment was more ostentatious than most visiting dignitaries receive, even for state visits.

Adding to the ceremony was a military band, and a flyover that included several F-35 fighter jets. Mr. Trump said on Monday that he intended to sell the advanced aircraft to the Saudis, a decision that would need congressional approval. Other agreements came together, including one on artificial intelligence, a mutual defense pact and an agreement that would eventually offer Saudi Arabia access to the United States’ nuclear technology.

The crown prince was set to be honored Tuesday night at a welcome ceremony and a black-tie dinner at the White House attended by major business leaders, including the billionaire and former Trump adviser Elon Musk. On Wednesday, he is scheduled to participate with the president in an investment conference at Washington’s Kennedy Center.

Ahead of the visit, Mr. Trump had hinted that he wanted the Saudis to agree to normalize relations with Israel and sign onto the Abraham Accords, a set of diplomatic agreements that normalized relations between Israel and three Arab states during the first Trump administration.

But it was clear that was not on the table for this visit. “Israel will be very happy,” Mr. Trump insisted, when pressed about failing to secure Saudi Arabia’s commitment on that front. “Israel is aware, and they’re going to be very happy.”

To fulfill the rest of his 20-point plan to rebuild Gaza and his desire to increase participation in the Abraham Accords, Mr. Trump will need to keep the Saudis engaged, analysts said.

“Part of his incentive is to wine and dine the Saudi leadership and lay the groundwork for that eventuality of normalizing with Israel,” said Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Quincy Institute, a foreign policy think tank. But, he added, “from the Saudi point of view, they’re getting a lot of the package that had been put forward, without normalizing.”

On Tuesday, all of those details seemed secondary to Mr. Trump’s interest in showing off the White House, which he is remodeling in his image.

At one point, Mr. Trump stopped to show the prince a wall of presidential portraits, including the photo of an autopen hanging in the space where the portrait of former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. would be. And the president made clear he was not interested in giving any credit to a predecessor whose administration had opted to preserve the strategic relationship between the two countries rather than take direct action against the crown prince for Mr. Khashoggi’s murder.

“Trump doesn’t give a fist bump,” Mr. Trump said, referring to himself, and also to the greeting between Mr. Biden and the crown prince in 2022. He gestured to the crown prince: “I grabbed that hand. I don’t give a hell where that hand’s been. I grabbed that.”

Mr. Trump also seemed eager to establish his friendship with the crown prince.

“I can call him almost any time,” Mr. Trump said. “When you love your job, when you love your country, and when you’re in a position like we are — future king, highly respected crown prince, and in my case, president, you’re thinking about your country.”

The Trump family business has also reaped the benefits of closely working with Saudi Arabia. This week, the Trump Organization and its Saudi-based development partner, Dar Al Arkan, announced a new project allowing cryptocurrency investors to buy into Trump-branded real estate projects using digital tokens that can be bought and sold on a blockchain platform. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law who has been helping with the Middle East peace process, runs a private equity firm that has taken $2 billion from a fund led by the crown prince.

Mr. Kushner was not expected to attend the dinner, but Mr. Trump’s son, Don Jr., was expected to attend, according to a White House official familiar with the guest list.

On Tuesday afternoon, when the crown prince left the White House, some members of the Saudi delegation carried red gift bags with the president’s signature embossed on them, which they loaded into a waiting vehicle before departing.

Related Content