Updated November 19, 2025 at 7:25 AM ChST
President Trump defended Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when questioned in the Oval Office Tuesday about CIA findings that the prince approved the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
"You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial," Trump said, referring to Khashoggi. "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 knew nothing about it. And would you leave it at that? You don't have to embarrass our guest by asking a question."
The CIA concluded the crown prince approved the 2018 operation that killed and dismembered Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey, but Salman maintained he had no knowledge of the attack, which he's called "heinous" and "unjustifiable."
On Tuesday, he said that his country has "improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that. And it's painful, and it's a huge mistake, and we are doing our best that this doesn't happen again."
Trump also dismissed questions about a conflict of interest regarding his family's business ties to Saudi Arabia while hosting Salman as president. He said that he has "nothing to do" with the family business and added that while he helped build a successful business, he "decided to leave that success behind and make America very successful."
The two men touted a deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia that would bring hundreds of billions in investment into the United States in exchange for access to key military and technology assets for the Gulf nation.
After a trip to Saudi Arabia in May, the White House announced the Middle Eastern country had made a $600 billion "commitment to invest in the United States." During the meeting inside the Oval Office on Tuesday, Salman said Saudi Arabia is going to invest more than that.
"We are going to increase that $600 billion to almost $1 trillion of investment — real investment and real opportunity," Salman said about deals related to technology, including artificial intelligence.
It's unclear if that meant Saudi Arabia plans to invest $1 trillion directly or if Salman believes the investment will grow to be worth that much. The crown prince has expressed that Saudi Arabia has particular interest in AI.
On defense, Trump and Salman reiterated plans for the U.S. to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia. But Trump said he doesn't think Israel will be concerned about the deal. In fact, he believes the exact opposite, stating "they're going to be very happy." Trump also said he could see a formal civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia happening eventually but "it's not urgent."
When it came to the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements that established diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab states that Saudi Arabia is currently not a part of, Salman didn't directly say whether or not the country would join. Salman said he believes having relations in the region is "a good thing, and we want to be part of the core, but we want also to be sure that we secure a clear path of two-state solution," referring to Palestinian statehood.
Salman said they had a "healthy discussion" with President Trump on the topic and that "we're going to work on that to be sure that we can prepare the right situation as soon as possible to have that." Trump added a conversation on a two-state solution would be discussed further as well.
Salman's trip to the White House isn't over just yet. A dinner is planned this evening at the White House following today's meetings.
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