XPost: comp.os.linux.advocacy, alt.computer.workshop, alt.politics   
   From: MeanxDog@Menace.Dash   
      
   Trump Lauds Saudi Prince in Lavish Visit, Brushing Off Journalist’s Killing   
   President Trump rejected a U.S. intelligence report finding that Crown   
   Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the murder of a journalist.   
      
   Katie Rogers   
   By Katie Rogers   
   Reporting from Washington   
   Published Nov. 18, 2025Updated Nov. 19, 2025,   
   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.   
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   1:19   
   President Trump stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Crown Prince Mohammad bin   
   Salman of Saudi Arabia during a White House dinner on Tuesday. The room was   
   packed with leaders from several industries.CreditCredit...Kenny   
   Holston/The New York Times   
   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   
      
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