President Trump on Tuesday defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the 2018 killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi and praised the Saudis for increasing their investment in America to $1 trillion during a White House visit.
The crown prince, seated in the Oval Office, informed the president of the increased investments that had been $600 billion.
“When you invest $1 trillion, that’s national security for us, too, because it creates jobs, it creates a lot of things,” Mr. Trump said. “That’s a real ally that will do that. Creates a lot of power for the United States.”
In return, Mr. Trump signaled he is strongly considering a key part of the crown prince’s wish list: access to advanced U.S. semiconductors that would power Saudi Arabia’s ambition in artificial intelligence.
AI is a central plank of the crown prince’s desire to diversify the Gulf country’s economy beyond oil production and usher in a moderate form of Islam that opens his country to pop stars, athletes and other Western influences.
“We are working on that,” Mr. Trump said of the computer chips. “We’re negotiating that right now.”
Mr. Trump’s affection for the crown prince, also known as MBS, was on full display during the Oval Office sit-down. He called him an “extremely respected man” who’s done a good job “in terms of human rights and everything else.”
“I want to tell you what an honor it is to be your friend,” Mr. Trump said.
The crown prince repaid the praise, calling the U.S. the “hottest country on the planet.”
Though this is not a formal state visit, Mr. Trump is laying out the red carpet for the Saudis with a lunch, bilateral meeting and White House dinner.
Mr. Trump greeted the crown prince with brass fanfare from military bands on the South Lawn and a flyover by three F-35 and three F-15 jets before heading into the White House. The Saudi will also meet with Capitol Hill leaders.
MBS is making his first visit since the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist, at a Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
Formal investigations alleged the killing was premeditated with the crown prince’s involvement.
The Saudi leader denied personal involvement, and he regained clout with the West, given his country’s status as a major player in Middle East security and oil production.
Mr. Trump bristled at a question from an ABC News reporter about the 2018 killing and whether it was appropriate for the crown prince to visit the White House, given concerns about the Arab state’s alleged connections to the murder and the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,” Mr. Trump said about Khashoggi. “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. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”
The crown prince said while in the Oval Office that the Khashoggi incident was “painful” and a “huge mistake,” and “we’re doing our best that this doesn’t happen again.”
Mr. Trump also defended his formal interactions with the Saudis even as his family business pursues opportunities in the Middle East.
“I have nothing to do with the family business,” he said.
In front of TV cameras, the crown prince sat quietly as Mr. Trump discussed how he inherited high inflation and other troubles.
Mr. Trump said he leveraged tariffs in foreign negotiations to secure tremendous investments in U.S. manufacturing and jobs, including the latest commitment from Riyadh.
Mr. Trump also boasted about the June B-2 bombing that destroyed the nuclear sites of Iran, the main Mideast rival to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis want to purchase F-35 fighter jets and obtain the kind of mutual-security guarantees from the U.S. that Mr. Trump provided Qatar, a smaller Gulf state.
Mr. Trump has said he’s ready to approve the fighter-jet purchase.
Meanwhile, the president is pushing the Saudis to take a bigger role in rebuilding Gaza and is lobbying them to join the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations among Israel and smaller Arab countries in 2020.
The Saudis have made Palestinian statehood a precondition for such an agreement, so they are not expected to join the accords during this trip.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.