President Donald Trump held a black-tie dinner event for his guest, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to celebrate the official induction of the nation as a “major non-NATO ally.”
What was scheduled as a celebration soon became complicated when the Saudi leader was finally asked about the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who Trump immediately dismissed as “extremely controversial.”
Despite US intelligence having directly linked the Saudi crown, MBS has seldom been put in the spot of actually being answerable to the allegations. Saudi Arabia has outlawed dissent, and essentially if you ever question or, worse, accuse the crown of anything negative, they could slap counterterrorism charges on you and jail you.
Under the leadership of MBS, the oil-rich nation has been finding ways of rehabilitating its global reputation. Every year they host stars like F1 icon Sir Lewis Hamilton, and week to week they get to watch Cristiano Ronaldo make record breaking earnings on the soccer pitch. Recently, they even took things further and hosted a litany of British and American comedians, albeit with strict topics to avoid, such as not saying anything negative about the Saudi royal family. The comics’ convenient self-censorship is something most observers found shameful.
Khashoggi, however, chose to not censor himself. Over his career, he became such a thorn in the Saudi royal family’s flesh that they allegedly set up “troll farms” to discredit him online. Perhaps, that’s what Trump may be referring to in part when he said, “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 [the crown prince] knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that.”
In fact, according to NBC, Trump went on to add that in “terms of human rights and everything else” the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was actually impressive to him. But for Trump, of course, throughout his entire career both as a business person — he has shown that it’s money and investment that come first to him.
At the tail end of the dinner, Trump announced that MBS plans to invest $1 trillion in the US economy over the coming years. But just like the time he hosted tech titans and Mark Zuckerberg claimed that he will also be investing millions of dollars, questions quickly got raised about the feasibility of Trump’s promise. According to the World Bank, Saudi Arabia’s current GDP is $1.24 trillion, which makes Trump’s claim sound unlikely.
Trump on MBS: "He's investing $1 trillion into the United States." (The entire GDP of Saudi Arabia is $1.1 trillion, so yeah, this isn't happening) pic.twitter.com/2Kd5xKq2kP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 19, 2025
During the entire exercise, Trump was snapping at ABC reporters for asking the Crown Prince about how Saudi Arabia reacted to the 9/11 terror attacks. Notably, the terrorists were from the nation, and while MBS did try to at least weave a plea for unity and letting bygones be bygones, Trump chose to first attack the reporter. Which does at least suggest that when it comes to hostility towards reporters, the only difference between the two world leaders is what they can get away with.
Reporter: "Your Royal Highness, U.S. intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist. 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office…"
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) November 18, 2025
Trump: "Who are you with?"
Reporter: "I'm with ABC News."
Trump: "Fake news…As far as this… pic.twitter.com/rjsmuESgfi
The widow of the late journalist, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, however, had the last word. She took to social media to write, “There is no justification to murder my husband. While Jamal was a good, transparent, and brave man, many people may not have agreed with his opinions and desire for freedom of the press. The Crown Prince said he was sorry, so he should meet me, apologize, and compensate me for the murder of my husband.”
