President Donald Trump lashed out at an ABC News reporter during a bilateral meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday after she asked about the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi — and later threatened consequences for her network.
“You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial,” Trump said of Khashoggi in the Oval Office in response to a question from Mary Bruce. “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happened, but [MBS] knew nothing about it. And would you leave it at that? You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”
After Bruce asked about the Justice Department’s files on Jeffrey Epstein, Trump criticized her again, saying she asked MBS “a horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question.” He suggested it was part of a broader problem with ABC.
“I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and it’s so wrong. And we have a great commissioner — chairman — who should look at that,” Trump said.
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The Oval Office sit-down between Trump and MBS marks the first time in seven years that the crown prince has been invited to the White House, having largely been treated as a pariah in Washington for his suspected role in Khashoggi’s killing. Although MBS has denied involvement, a 2021 report issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence found that he knew and approved of Khashoggi’s killing ahead of time.
During the bilateral meeting, MBS called Khashoggi’s death a mistake.
“About the journalist, it’s really painful to hear about anyone who is losing his life for no real purpose,” MBS said. “And it’s been painful for us in Saudi Arabia. We’ve did all the right steps of investigation, etc., in Saudi Arabia, and we’ve improved our system to be sure nothing happened like that and it’s painful and it is a huge mistake. And we are doing our best that this doesn’t happen again.”
MBS found a warm welcome on Tuesday, bantering with the president about the scale of Saudi investment in the U.S. and repeatedly being referred to by Trump as a friend. His multi-day visit is meant to finalize new deals on AI, energy and defense. Trump on Monday confirmed his administration intends to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia, making it the only Middle Eastern country to receive the fighter jets beyond Israel.
“We have an extremely respected man in the Oval Office today and a friend of mine for a long time, a very good friend of mine,” Trump said. “I’m very proud of the job; what he’s done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else.”
This article has been updated with additional comments.
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