Trump praises Saudi Arabiaâs prince suspected of ordering journalistâs death
On a trip to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, President Donald Trump heaped praise on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, years after the U.S. intelligence community found that the prince ordered the assassination and dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist.
At the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum held at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, many of the worldâs powerful CEOs, like Teslaâs (and presidential advisor) Elon Musk, Nvidiaâs Jensen Huang and BlackRockâs Larry Fink, were in attendance, CNBC reported.
Trump walked onstage while Len Greenwoodâs âProud to be an Americanâ played on. The president then began a 50-minute speech focused on domestic affairs and his friendship with the crown prince, the network wrote. Trump called him Saudi Arabiaâs âgreatest representative.â
âMohammed, do you sleep at night?â Trump at one point asked. âHow do you sleep? Critics doubted that it was possible, what youâve done, but over the past eight years, Saudi Arabia has proved the critics totally wrong.â
In response, Bin Salman smiled and placed his hand over his heart, CNBC wrote.
âAnd if I didnât like him, Iâd get out of here so fast,â Trump continued. âYou know that, donât you? He knows me well. I do â I like him a lot. I like him too much. Thatâs why we give so much, you know? Too much. I like you too much."
Trump continued his praise to say, âThe United States is the hottest country, with the exception of your country,â ABC News reported. â... Youâre hotter, at least as long as Iâm up here. Youâre hotter.â
The president also announced that he would lift sanctions on Syria, previously imposed in 2004 under President George W. Bush and again in 2011 under President Barack Obama, CNBC wrote. The current president hinted that Saudi Arabia requested he lift the sanctions.
âOh, what I do for the crown prince,â Trump said after the announcement. âThe sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important, really an important function, nevertheless, at the time. But now itâs their time to shine.â
Bin Salmanâs warm reception comes four years after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under the Biden administration concluded in its own report that the crown prince ordered the assassination of Saudi dissident in exile and Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, Turkey.
Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 to receive a document to marry his fiancée, BBC News reported. His fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, waited 10 hours for Khashoggi outside the consulate.
A month later, Saudi officials investigated his disappearance and stated that he overdosed after he was sedated following an altercation, BBC News wrote. His body was then dismembered. While Saudi officials said 21 people were arrested in connection with Khashoggiâs death, along with five senior government officials.
Bin Salman has denied any involvement in Khashoggiâs death.
Trump also denied the crown princeâs involvement in the reporterâs death, even after an assessment by the CIA approved of the assassination, BBC News wrote.