Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi journalist critical of Saudi Arabia’s rulers, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. On October 2, 2018, Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi embassy in Turkey, a political assassination ordered by the crown prince. This happened during Donald Trump’s first term, and the CIA investigated and publicly declared that MBS had ordered Khashoggi’s assassination. None of this made MBS a pariah – he’s simply too rich and too powerful – but it changed the way Western leaders interacted with him publicly and privately. MBS and Jared Kushner formed some kind of strong alliance based on MBS giving Kushner $2 billion, and through that alliance, the Trump administration largely ignored Khashoggi’s murder.
Well, on Tuesday, Donald Trump welcomed MBS to the White House. Not just a regular old welcome either – Trump pulled out all of the stops and gave MBS the kind of lavish state-visit stagecraft usually reserved for our closest allies or heads of state. Trump and MBS even did an impromptu joint press conference in the Oval, with a press pool shouting out questions. MBS answered questions as well, and answered in English. The presser was completely and utterly bonkers, with Trump giving MBS political cover for Khashoggi’s assassination, saying “things happen,” and suggesting that beheading a journalist is a normal response to criticism. He also berated yet another female reporter for asking questions… during a press pool.
President Trump assailed an American journalist in the Oval Office on Tuesday for asking Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, about the violent death of a Washington Post columnist at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. U.S. intelligence has said the attack was carried out on the prince’s orders.
“You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” Mr. Trump told the journalist, Mary Bruce of ABC News, later referring to her query as “a horrible, insubordinate, and just a terrible question.”
“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the murdered journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.” The prince has denied involvement in the killing. It was the second time in a week that Mr. Trump had leveled a fierce insult at a woman who was covering him.
On Tuesday, regarding Ms. Bruce, the president referred to ABC as a “crappy company” and said that the network’s broadcasting license “should be taken away.” He said that his top broadcast regulator, Brendan Carr, whose agency grants licenses to local stations, “should look at that.”
The exchange with Ms. Bruce occurred during Prince Mohammed’s first visit to the United States since Mr. Khashoggi’s death and dismemberment by Saudi agents. His death provoked international condemnation.
Mr. Trump appeared deeply frustrated with Ms. Bruce, the chief White House correspondent at ABC News. He insulted her again after she asked another question about why Mr. Trump had not unilaterally ordered the release of files related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“It’s not the question that I mind; it’s your attitude,” Mr. Trump told Ms. Bruce, in scolding tones. “I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions.” He added: “You’re a terrible person and a terrible reporter.”
Trump kept going and going at Mary Bruce, so much so that I was surprised he didn’t say something about how she should get the Khashoggi Special. It was a dark day for America and a dark day for journalism, although I’m not sure what the Beltway media thought would happen when they normalized Trump for the past decade. Anyway, last night, Trump hosted a pseudo-state dinner for MBS, and the guest list included: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gianni Infantino (head of FIFA), Michael Dell, Chuck Robbins (CEO of Cisco), David Ellison (head of Paramount), Jane Fraser (CEO of Citi) and on and on. So many titans of industry are perfectly fine with the state-sponsored beheading of journalists.
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: “You’re mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. 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. You don’t have to… pic.twitter.com/uhh8VjFy20
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 18, 2025
Reporter: “Your Royal Highness, U.S. intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist. 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office…”
Trump: “Who are you with?”
Reporter: “I’m with ABC News.”
Trump: “Fake news…As far as this… pic.twitter.com/rjsmuESgfi
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) November 18, 2025
MBS: “I feel painful about the families of 9/11, but … ” pic.twitter.com/8NuugXPfyA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 18, 2025
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
