Washington — President Trump welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, to the White House on Tuesday with an elaborate military display, praising the crown prince and insisting that U.S.-Saudi relations have never been better as the two countries seek to sign major business and national security agreements.
The pomp and decor, as well as the president's praise and warmth for MBS, were more typical of a visiting Western allied democracy than an absolute monarchy with a problematic human rights record, indicating the president's emphasis on economic and business ties above all else. The White House views Saudi Arabia as a critical security partner in the troubled Middle East, as well as an economic partner.
The Crown Prince's arrival at the White House was filled with pomp and ceremony, complete with a US military flyover, cannons, horses and a red carpet. American and Saudi flags decorated the South Lawn of the White House, and the Saudi royal was greeted by a military band. Mr Trump and the crown prince exchanged greetings, shook hands and then watched a formation of F-35 and F-16 fighter jets fly by before entering the White House.
Ahead of bin Salman's arrival, Mr Trump told reporters Monday that the US will sell F-35 fighter jets to the Saudis. In the Oval Office, MBS said the Saudis would increase planned investment in the US by $600 billion to get closer to 1 trillion dollarsa statement that made Mr. Trump very happy.
Mr. Trump praised the crown prince in the Oval Office, calling him a “very good friend” and insisting that his record on human rights was commendable despite the State Department’s long list of concerns about human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia. According to the latest data for 2024, arbitrary and unlawful killings, disappearances, torture, and severe restrictions on freedom of expression and religious freedom continue to plague the country. State Department Report.
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The trip to the White House was the crown prince's first visit to the United States since Washington Post journalist and human rights activist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by members of the Saudi government. The President smoothed things over with the Saudis as the CIA assessed the situation about a month later. Khashoggi murder what the crown prince had ordered this.
Bin Salman denies any involvement, but he Norah O'Donnell told CBS News in a 2019 60 Minutes interview: “I take full responsibility as the leader of Saudi Arabia, especially since this was committed by people working for the Saudi government.”
The Biden administration later released a Trump-era intelligence report saying the crown prince “approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”
Bin Salman was asked about Khashoggi in the Oval Office on Tuesday, giving US journalists a rare opportunity to ask questions of the future king. “As a journalist, it's very painful to hear that someone is losing their life without any real purpose,” MBS said.
The Crown Prince sought to distance the Saudi government from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. families of the attackers criticize the White House for inviting him. Bin Salman said he was “hurt for the families of the 9/11 victims in America” but said Osama bin Laden was using the Saudi people to “destroy” US-Saudi relations. Claims that members of the Saudi government were linked to some of the 9/11 hijackers have been circulating for years. vehement denials from Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Trump criticized members of the media for some of the questions.
“Today in the Oval Office we have an extremely respected man and a longtime friend of mine, a very good friend of mine,” Mr. Trump said. “I'm very proud of my work, what he's done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else.”
There will be a gala dinner with bin Salman on Tuesday evening. There will be 120 invited guests, including 30 from the Saudi delegation, according to a person familiar with the planning. Mr. Trump said Tuesday night's dinner was a perfect example of why his grand ballroom, which is under construction, is needed. While it is not a state dinner, it is the first official dinner Trump has hosted in his second term to honor a national leader. Bin Salman's father, Salman bin Abdulaziz, is technically the kingdom's head of state, but in 2017 he delegated his duties as ruler to MBS.
“We are more than just a meeting,” Mr. Trump said Friday of the visit. “We honor Saudi Arabia.”
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A senior administration official said the president will make announcements regarding Saudi investment in U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure, increased civil nuclear energy cooperation, defense sales and implementation of Saudi plans. $600 Billion Investment Collateralwhich was announced during the President's visit to Saudi Arabia in May.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly called the trip an “official working visit” in a statement and said, “Americans can expect more great deals for our country, spanning technology, manufacturing, critical minerals, defense and more.”
Trump also plans to visit Saudi Arabia. business summit in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. An invitation CBS News previously reported that the event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will be organized jointly by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment and the US-Saudi Business Council.
Mr. Trump and his son-in-law and former White House top adviser Jared Kushner have forged close relationships with the Saudis and the crown prince in particular, viewing them as critical partners for both security and business in the turbulent Middle East. The President stated that Abraham Accords – the agreement of his first term that normalized diplomatic relations between Israel, Bahrain and the UAE – will be a big topic of discussion during the visit.
“The Abraham Accords are going to be the part that we're going to discuss,” Trump said over the weekend. “I hope that Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords pretty soon.” We've taken a huge interest in the Abraham Accords since we put Iran out of business.”
Mr. Trump recently told 60 Minutes' Norah O'Donnell that he believes bin Salman would join agreement, although the Saudis have made it clear that this will not happen unless there is a path to Palestinian statehood.
The Trumps also have extensive and long-standing personal business ties to Saudi Arabia. Last year, the Trump Organization announced plans to build a Trump Tower in Jeddah, a major Saudi city on the Red Sea.
Eric Trump, son of the president and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, told Reuters that the Trump Organization also has plans to build Trump-branded properties in Riyadh.
And Kushner founded the private equity firm Affinity Partners, which reportedly received a $2 billion investment from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund controlled by bin Salman.
Asked about potential conflicts of interest given his family business ties, Mr. Trump said Tuesday: “I have nothing to do with the family business.”
Criticism of human rights violations
After Khashoggi's killing, Trump did not seek to personally punish bin Salman during his first administration and said he viewed Saudi Arabia as a “great ally,” noting economic ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration imposed sanctions on 19 Saudi citizens for the murder.
“Our intelligence agencies continue to evaluate all information, but it is possible that the Crown Prince knew about this tragic event – maybe he did, maybe he didn’t!” Mr. Trump posted this message on social media in November 2018.
“That said, we may never know all the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran.”
Human rights activists are alarmed by the treatment expected to await bin Salman in Washington, not only because of the Khashoggi killing, but also because of the human rights record in Saudi Arabia under bin Salman.
“We know that President Trump will not ask MBS to reveal where Jamal's remains are so his family can finally bury him,” said Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for Democracy in the Arab World Now, an organization Khashoggi founded in the months before his killing. “But the least he can do—the absolute minimum—is publicly demand that MBS release the dozens of activists, writers and reformers languishing in Saudi prisons for the ‘crime’ of free speech.”
Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of DAWN, called bin Salman's journey from being punished for Khashoggi's killing to being welcomed into the White House “a remarkable political feat.” And it's not just Trump's friendly gestures towards the crown prince. Whitson referred to the “fist bump seen around the world” when former President Joe Biden warmly welcomed Khashoggi to Riyadh during his presidency “hat in hand.”
“We've gone from the Biden administration severely sanctioning Mohammed bin Salman himself for the Khashoggi murder … to now welcoming him to Washington and not only sort of honoring him for any good deals he can make with American businesses, but potentially actually helping as a stabilizing force,” Whitson said.
