‘He knew nothing’: Trump sides with MBS on journalist Khashoggi’s murder; Saudi crown prince calls it ‘huge mistake’

US President Donald Trump welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salaman in the White House on Tuesday (Nov 18) for the first time since 2018. This was bin Salman's first US visit after a US-based journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was killed in 2018 in Turkey. He was a critic of Saudi Arabia’s government. For decades, the 59-year-old was close to the Saudi royal family and also served as an adviser to the government.

During a press conference from the Oval Office with bin Salman, Trump said that he "knew nothing about" the journalist's murder. In a conclusion of the probe into his murder in 2021, the US intelligence had said that bin Salman orchestrated the brutal murder of Khashoggi.

Trump called ABC News, whose reporter asked the question on the topic, fake news. "You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman [Khashoggi] that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen. But he [bin Salman] knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that," Trump said.

Meanwhile, bin Salman called Khashoggi's murder a "huge mistake".

"it's painful and it's a huge mistake, and we are doing our best that this doesn't happen again," the Saudi crown prince said.

This was bin Salman's first US visit after a US-based journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was killed in 2018 in Turkey. The American president announced that the US and Saudi Arabia have reached a defence deal. But apart from national interest, does the US president have any personal benefits from MBS's visit? Well, not him, but his family certainly has a personal interest in it.

In September, London real estate developer Dar Global announced that it plans to launch Trump Plaza in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. Last year, the two companies announced the launch of Trump Tower Jeddah. Dar Global has a collaboration with the Trump Organisation, which is a collection of companies run by Trump's children.

As per reports by AFP, Dar Global is primarily dependent on contracts from the Saudi government and MBS’s favour, especially as he pursues an ambitious development plan called Vision 2030, intended to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil.

‘Nothing to do with the family business'

Trump, during his press conference from the Oval Office with MBS, said that his visit had "nothing to do" with his family business. "I have nothing to do with the family business. I have left, and I’ve devoted 100 per cent of my energy. What my family does is fine. They do business all over," Trump said. "They’ve done very little with Saudi Arabia, actually. I’m sure they could do a lot, and anything they’ve done has been very good," he added.