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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 the U.S. to $1 trillion.
The crown prince, seated in the Oval Office, informed the president of the increased investments, which 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 that he was 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 Persian 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.”
Later Tuesday, Mr. Trump said the U.S. signed a mutual-security pact with Saudi Arabia, akin to the one that Mr. Trump granted to Qatar, a smaller Gulf state. The prior deal said a threat to Qatar would be treated as a threat to the “peace and security” of the U.S.
The Saudi pact “will serve the highest interest of peace,” Mr. Trump said at a formal dinner with the crown prince.
Mr. Trump’s affection for the crown prince, also known as MBS, was on full display during the Oval Office meeting. He called Mohammed an “extremely respected man” who has 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 by calling the U.S. the “hottest country on the planet.”
Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer and home to 35 million people, has a decades-old relationship with the U.S. as a key security and economic partner in the Gulf region. Mr. Trump has tried to enhance those ties.
Although this is not a formal state visit, Mr. Trump is laying out the red carpet for the Saudis with a lunch, a bilateral meeting and a 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. Muhammed 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 the 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 ABC News reporter Mary Bruce about the Khashoggi 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 terrorist 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 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.”
Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, responded on X by saying her husband was “a good transparent and brave man.”
“Many people may not have agreed with his opinions and desire for freedom of the press,” she wrote. “The Crown Prince said he was sorry, so he should meet me, apologize and compensate me for the murder of my husband.”
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 nuclear sites in Iran, the leading Middle East rival to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis also plan to purchase F-35 fighter jets.
“We have reached an agreement on that,” said Mr. Trump, signaling that the security deal was imminent. “We’re going to have a deal, they’re going to purchase F-35s.”
Meanwhile, the president is pushing the Saudis to take a bigger role in rebuilding the Gaza Strip and is lobbying them to join the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between 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.
“We want to be part of the Abraham Accord,” said MBS, adding that the Saudis still want a two-state solution for Palestinians, and he would “work on that” with Mr. Trump.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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