Trump Lavishes Praise On His “Friend” The Saudi Prince

CBS News reports:

President Trump met with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday while they were in Osaka, Japan, calling the crown prince a “friend of mine.” Mr. Trump called bin Salman “a man who has really done things in the last 5 years in terms of opening of Saudi Arabia.”

Mr. Trump did not answer questions about Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. An independent U.N. human rights expert investigating Khashoggi’s death said earlier this month there is “credible evidence” linking bin Salman’s to the murder. Bin Salman has denied any involvement.

Mr. Trump on Saturday praised bin Salman for doing a “speculator job” and said they’ve had meetings on “trade, and economic development and on the military.”

CNN reports:



Earlier Saturday, during a working breakfast with the prince, Trump brushed off a question about whether he would raise the subject of Khashoggi’s murder. “Uh,” Trump said, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat frowning next to him, “thank you very much.”

And despite Trump’s claim that “nobody has directly pointed a finger” at bin Salman, his own CIA, according to a senior US official and a source familiar with the matter, concluded the Saudi ruler authorized the brutal murder. A United Nations report released last week also implicated bin Salman.