Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 03:41am on 19 Nov 2025,Wednesday International
President Donald Trump defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an Oval Office meeting, dismissing US intelligence findings that MBS approved journalist Jamal Khashoggi's 2018 murder. Trump called the ABC reporter "fake news" and insisted the Crown Prince "knew nothing about it," adding "things happen" and some didn't like Khashoggi. MBS acknowledged the incident was "painful" and called it a "huge mistake," claiming Saudi Arabia improved systems to prevent recurrence. The exchange overshadowed MBS's first White House visit since the killing. The Crown Prince announced increasing US investments from $600 billion to $1 trillion, while Trump praised Saudi Arabia's "incredible" human rights progress without specifics.
