In a break from years of ostracism, Trump welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House, even defending him over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. An investigation proved that Khashoggi, who lived in the US and worked as a columnist for the Washington Post, was invited to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was ambushed by 15 agents, suffocated and hacked to pieces in 2018.
Answering a reporter’s question directed at the crown prince, Trump said: ‘You’re mentioning someone [Khashoggi] that was extremely controversial. 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 he [bin Salman] knew nothing about it.’
The President then added, shrugging, ‘Things happen.’