Donald Trump defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman today over the 2018 killing of Washington Post opinion columnist Jamal Khashoggi saying “things happen”
Trump said today he doesn’t hold the Saudi leader responsible for the gruesome murder even though the CIA concluded in November 2018 that the Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi’s assassination, based on audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence links.
President Trump defended the Saudi crown prince over the killing of Post opinion columnist Jamal Khashoggi, saying “things happen” and that he did not hold the leader responsible for the murder despite a U.S. intelligence report assessing the opposite. https://t.co/Wn6kDhMOgF
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 18, 2025
From the Washington Post:
Trump’s dismissive language offered the highest-level confirmation yet that Mohammed will face few consequences for the killing, as the crown prince makes his first visit to Washington since Khashoggi was dismembered in a Saudi consulate in Turkey.
“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 [Mohammed] knew nothing about it,” Trump said in response to a question. “And we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”
After Khashoggi’s killing and a U.S. intelligence assessment that determined the crown prince was responsible, Mohammed was branded a pariah.
Mohammed arrived to a grand welcome from Trump at the White House on Tuesday, greeted at the South Portico with an honor guard of black horses and herald trumpeters, a remarkable turnaround for the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia who had been branded a pariah in 2018 after the CIA concluded that he had approved the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
During his meetings in Washington, the Crown Prince will be signing deals to purchase military equipment from the U.S. including F-35s, some of the most advanced aircraft in the world.
The video is cued up below.
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