Trump with MBS on Khashoggi: "A lot of people didn't like" him

President Trump said "a lot of people didn't like" journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a Tuesday meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).Why it matters: The 2018 murder of Khashoggi was among the reasons for heightened tension between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia during the Biden administration, which released a report in 2021 that concluded MBS approved the order to "capture or kill" the Saudi journalist.Saudi officials rejected the report's findings, calling it a "negative, false and unacceptable assessment."The latest: "You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial," Trump said in the Oval Office. "About the journalist, it's really painful to hear anyone losing his life for no real purpose or not in a legal way," MBS said. "And it's been painful for us in Saudi Arabia. We did all the right steps of investigation, et cetera, in Saudi Arabia. And we've improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that." The Washington Post, where Khashoggi worked, did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.Flashback: Saudi Arabia was the first foreign trip of Trump's first term. He planned to return for the first trip of his second administration this year, but instead attended Pope Francis' funeral.Friction point: Trump on Tuesday said the question, which was from an ABC News reporter, "embarrassed" his guest. "Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen, but [the crown prince] knew nothing about it," Trump said.The president called the reporter a "terrible person."Zoom out: Khashoggi became an outspoken critic of MBS in 2017 after the then-newly appointed crown prince began cracking down on dissent. The journalist fled Saudi Arabia in 2017 and went into self-imposed exile in Virginia. His Washington Post columns were frequently critical of the regime. He was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.Zoom in: Khashoggi's widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, said the president was "misinformed" in a Tuesday interview with Scripps News. "I'm willing to meet with the president and give him the right idea about my husband and to seek his help for a full justice for myself and my husband," she said. On Monday, she told CNN that it was "very painful" to see Trump welcome MBS."It would be better if Jamal was here and receiving the crown prince by himself and meet with him and share with him his vision and mission and all of his ideas," she said. Go deeper: U.S. will sell Saudi Arabia advanced F-35 fighter jets, Trump saysEditor's note: This story has been updated with details throughout.

Comments

World news

Goldeneyes win first game in franchise history

Global News

Comments

Similar News

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says ‘most difficult moment in history’ as Trump sets peace deal deadline

Ukraine loses land, no Nato and Russia back in the G8: What is in Trump’s 28-point plan to end the war?

Trump’s Ukraine deal is the only option – thanks to Europe

Africa's first G20 summit opens with an ambitious agenda and tries to move on from Trump's boycott

What Is Trump’s 28-Point Plan to End Russia’s War in Ukraine?

Trump changes tack on the Epstein files

Fox News station runs ads for handguns featuring Donald Trump’s likeness

Anyone expecting a showdown when Trump met Mamdani got a pretty big surprise

Marjorie Taylor Greene to resign from Congress after clash with Trump

Trump calls Marjorie Taylor Greene resignation ‘great news for the country’

From staunch Trump ally to ‘traitor’: key takeaways of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s career

Trump says he is ending immigration protections for Somalis in Minnesota

MTG announces she’s resigning from Congress after nasty public breakup with Trump

Five takeaways from Trump and Mamdani's surprisingly cordial meeting

High-profile Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene to quit Congress after Trump feud

Trump wields dealmaking diplomacy to shape US foreign policy

Trump says Ukraine will have to accept peace plan - but critics warn it has 'real problems'

5 head-turning moments from Mamdani and Trump's surprisingly cordial meeting

Will Trump's no-show eclipse South Africa's G20 moment?

What to Know: Trump Labels Nigeria’s Christian Violence a ‘Genocide’

World news

Goldeneyes win first game in franchise history

PM Carney at G20 as countries move beyond U.S.

Britain's Daily Mail publisher enters exclusive talks to buy Telegraph Media Group for $654 million

There is only one thing Europe and Ukraine can do with Trump’s ‘peace’ ultimatum

The Kremlin says the internet is turned off to stop drone attacks. Russians are fed up

Ex-French President Sarkozy to publish memoir ‘Diary of a Prisoner’ as appeal looms

The Pope is a Wordle superfan. This is his daily strategy

An L.A. man was detained in an immigration raid. No one knows where he is

Halifax throws its founder under the bus: The fall of Edward Cornwallis

Canadians mistaking 'best before' and expiry dates are discarding hundreds of dollars in food: study

Driver’s near miss after bald eagle drops cat through car windshield

Four guards sentenced in beating death of an handcuffed Black man at New York prison

France must be prepared to ‘lose children’ in future war with Russia

Why Trump’s military threats to Venezuela could backfire – spectacularly

I had therapy, but I’ve regretted it ever since

Trump’s row with Marjorie Taylor Greene reveals the cracks in the Maga church

The demands of the Ukraine peace deal that reveal Putin’s true plan

My husband cooks all the meals in our house – I resent cleaning up his mess

‘Whipped up into a frenzy’: The parent WhatsApp groups ruined by ‘thumb warriors’

Number of children abducted in Nigerian school attack rises to more than 300

Man wanted for alleged child rape in France arrested in Liverpool

NATO forced to scramble warplanes after Russian terror overnight

Nigeria sees one of worst mass abductions as 315 taken from school

Seven bodyguards arrested over Mexican mayor's murder

Meet the peace activist who persuaded France's Macron to recognize a Palestinian state

Are Fighter Jets Canada’s ‘Bargaining Chip’ in Trade Talks?

Trump Claims a White ‘Genocide’ in South Africa. Here’s What’s Really Happening.

A Socialist Priest Embraces Venezuela’s Maduro, an Autocratic Leader

Germans Are Going Off Beer. That’s Forcing Brewers to Adapt or Go Bust.

Stopping the Greatest Threat to the Amazon, One Fire at a Time

Grizzly bear kills one and injures 11 in attack on schoolchildren in Canada

How Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine has been entirely dictated by Putin

Radiohead’s alt-rock sounds as fresh as ever, even after 40 years

England humiliated by Australia in two-day Ashes defeat

Elderly man dies in attack at Post Office cash machine as murder probe launched

Christmas turkey shortage fears as UK farms hit by 'super strain' bird flu

Agony of Cheryl Cole's former aide who died in horror 120mph storm

House of horrors where 'sex suicide pact Brit went to die' - 'frantic texts, beatings and video’

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says ‘most difficult moment in history’ as Trump sets peace deal deadline

Ukraine loses land, no Nato and Russia back in the G8: What is in Trump’s 28-point plan to end the war?

I can’t afford to ski, but a Swiss-style chalet in Yorkshire was perfect

Seven helpful things to say to someone who is grieving

We were hit with a £148k inheritance tax bill when mum died at 97 – it’s disgusting

A big week for UK

Trump’s Ukraine deal is the only option – thanks to Europe

Monty Panesar: I tried to rattle Steve Smith – it worked

How to care for evergreen winter shrubs, according to an RHS expert

Judge who wore Elvis wig in court has left the building

Families of Yemeni aid workers detained by Houthi rebels despair for their fate

Frustrations grow in Russia over cellphone internet outages that disrupt daily life

Africa's first G20 summit opens with an ambitious agenda and tries to move on from Trump's boycott

'Cruelest death in history' where man's flesh was torn off and EATEN by prisoners

'I survived the Jim Jones mass suicide and I know why so many made appalling decision'

Teacher avoids £1m payout as she was 'unaware sexual abuse harmed students'

Crew evacuated safely after explosion ignites fire on ship at Los Angeles port

I lied about my £23k salary to fit in with my friends – was I wrong to do so?

‘The worst thing is to win big’ – Why Starmer can’t control his ‘feral’ MPs