Trump welcomes Saudi crown prince to the White House
US President Donald Trump is hosting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday during the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia’s first White House visit since Saudi agents killed Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The US-Saudi relationship had been sent into a tailspin by the operation targeting Mr Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the kingdom, that US intelligence agencies later determined Prince Mohammed likely directed the agents to carry out.
But seven years later, Mr Trump has tightened his embrace of the crown prince, whom he views as an indispensable player in shaping the Middle East in the decades to come.
Prince Mohammed denies involvement in the killing of Mr Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and resident of Virginia.
The two leaders will unveil billions of dollars in deals, including one to sell the Saudis F-35 fighter jets, and huddle with aides to discuss the tricky path ahead in a volatile Middle East.
They will end their day with an evening White House event, organised by first lady Melania Trump, to honour the prince.
Mr Trump praised Prince Mohammed as they appeared before news media.
“We have a (sic) extremely respected man in the Oval Office today,” Mr Trump said, calling the prince “a friend of mine for a very long time”.
Mr Trump also praised the prince’s father.
The president spoke about how well he thinks the US is performing under his leadership.
The president and Prince Mohammed walked slowly on the White House Colonnade, where Mr Trump has hung portraits of all the presidents except one – Joe Biden.
Mr Trump and the crown prince walked slowly, pausing for several minutes at the portraits of former presidents Thomas Jefferson and Franklin D Roosevelt.
In place of Mr Biden’s portrait, Mr Trump has hung a picture of an autopen signing the former president’s name. Mr Trump showed it off to Prince Mohammed before they entered the Oval Office together.
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