All posts tagged "Mohammed Bin Salman"

President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) had a tense disagreement behind closed doors last week over Saudi Arabia's relationship with Israel and the president's desire for the country to join the Abraham Accords.

Trump had asked MBS to consider joining the peace deal, and the Saudi leader demanded that in return for a peace deal, he would consider it if Israel agreed to "an irreversible, credible and time-bound path" for a Palestinian state, Axios reported on Tuesday.

Israel has said it would oppose a Palestinian state. ...

President Donald Trump revealed a surprising response to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, and has apparently agreed to work toward a peace deal in the country, according to reports on Wednesday.

Trump wrote the following on his Truth Social platform:

"Tremendous atrocities are taking place in Sudan. It has become the most violent place on Earth and, likewise, the single biggest Humanitarian Crisis. Food, doctors, and everything else are desperately needed. Arab Leaders from all over the World, in particular the highly respected Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, who has just left the United States, have asked me to use the power and influence of the Presidency to bring an immediate halt to what is taking place in Sudan. It is considered a Great Civilization and Culture, unfortunately gone bad, but one that can be fixed with the cooperation and coordination of Countries, including those in the Region of tremendous Wealth, who want this to happen. We will work with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern partners to get these atrocities to end, while at the same time stabilizing Sudan. Thank you for your attention to this matter. GOD BLESS THE WORLD!"...

The widow of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi fired back Tuesday as President Donald Trump defended Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Trump defended the crown prince — who made his first visit to the United States since the killing of Khashoggi — saying "things happen" and describing Khashoggi as "extremely controversial" in a tense moment after a reporter asked about the journalist's killing.

His widow, Hanan Elatr-Khashoggi, 57, responded to Trump's claims, saying, "This is not justification to murder him." ...

President Donald Trump found himself to be a popular figure among Saudi Arabia's young adults during his four-day Middle Eastern tour.

According to The New York Times, "Citizens of the conservative Islamic kingdom say that Mr. Trump feels familiar to them. His family’s fluid melding of business and politics is the norm in Saudi Arabia — a country in which the Trump Organization has significant business interests and where government officials sit on the boards of listed companies."

The piece continued, "His reliance on relatives and friends to advise him and shape policy is unremarkable in Riyadh. And the conservative rhetoric he has adopted — in particular, his attacks on transgender people and reassertion of traditional gender norms — resonates with many in the kingdom."...

The Bulwark's Bill Kristol argued in a new piece Wednesday that it made perfect sense for Donald Trump to spend his first international trip of his second term in Saudi Arabia because he admires the kingdom's iron fist of repression so very much.

Kristol wrote that Trump appearing among the "autocrats and plutocrats and kleptocrats" hosted by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was exactly the image Trump wanted circulated around the world: American strongman holds court with a despot in one of the world's "most unfree" nations.

“I like him a lot. I like him too much,” the president said of his "friend" MBS, despite Saudi Arabia's proven ties to 9/11 and the gruesome murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The U.S. has “no stronger partner," Trump said of the kingdom before shoring up at least $600 billion in Saudi investment pledges....

President Donald Trump's favorite TV host Mark Levin was unhappy with the opulent spectacle taking place during Trump's visit of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Levin has been an outspoken Trump supporter on his "Life, Liberty & Levin" show on Fox, and has hosted Trump for sit-down interviews. In April, Trump appointed Levin to the Homeland Security Advisory Council, led by Secretary Kristi Noem.

But Levin wasn't pulling punches when he posted his displeasure to social media over Trump's Middle Eastern trip. ...