During a presser with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), President Donald Trump lashed out at reporters for asking about slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In 2018, Khashoggi, who worked for the Washington Post, was murdered and dismembered in a Saudi consulate in Turkey. US intelligence later determined that MBS ordered Khashoggi to be captured or killed.
On Tuesday, a report with ABC News asked the leaders about the murder of Khashoggi. Trump started by denouncing ABC as “fake news.” “As far as this gentleman (MBS) is concerned, he’s done a phenomenal job. You’re mentioning somebody (Khashoggi) that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman (Khashoggi) that you’re talking about,” The President said.
He continued, “Whether you like him (Khashoggi) or didn’t like him, things happen. But he (MBS) knew nothing about it and we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest (MBS) by asking a question like that.”
Trump invited MBS to the White House to court Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords. The Accords are a series of deals that Muslim countries have signed on to, where they receive favors from the US in exchange for normalizing ties with Israel.
Riyadh signing on to the Abraham Accords would be a significant political victory for Israel. Saudi Arabia is a member of the Arab League, and the bloc has a long-standing pledge not to normalize relations with Israel until there is an independent Palestinian state.
