During a tense meeting in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump became agitated with reporters when asked about Jamal Khashoggi's assassination. The Saudi journalist was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents inside an Istanbul embassy in 2018, with CIA assessments pointing to orders from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
When pressed on his stance, Trump dismissed the question, suggesting that Khashoggi's controversy had it coming. "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial," he said. "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, and we can leave it at that."
Trump seemed to feel that the press had overstepped its bounds by asking about Khashoggi's death. "You don't have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that," he said. The exchange left many in the room feeling uneasy.
However, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took a different approach. When asked about his feelings on the matter, he expressed regret and claimed to have taken all necessary steps to investigate Khashoggi's murder. "It's painful and it's a huge mistake," he said, although this stance has not been consistent with his past statements.
The crown prince has previously accepted responsibility for the murder but never directly admitted involvement. When asked about the incident in a 2019 PBS documentary, he stated, "It happened under my watch... I get all the responsibility, because it happened under my watch."
This latest exchange highlights the complexities of Trump's stance on Khashoggi's death and raises questions about his willingness to criticize Saudi Arabia over human rights concerns.
When pressed on his stance, Trump dismissed the question, suggesting that Khashoggi's controversy had it coming. "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial," he said. "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, and we can leave it at that."
Trump seemed to feel that the press had overstepped its bounds by asking about Khashoggi's death. "You don't have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that," he said. The exchange left many in the room feeling uneasy.
However, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took a different approach. When asked about his feelings on the matter, he expressed regret and claimed to have taken all necessary steps to investigate Khashoggi's murder. "It's painful and it's a huge mistake," he said, although this stance has not been consistent with his past statements.
The crown prince has previously accepted responsibility for the murder but never directly admitted involvement. When asked about the incident in a 2019 PBS documentary, he stated, "It happened under my watch... I get all the responsibility, because it happened under my watch."
This latest exchange highlights the complexities of Trump's stance on Khashoggi's death and raises questions about his willingness to criticize Saudi Arabia over human rights concerns.
. meanwhile, mohammed bin salman is trying to spin this whole thing as a huge mistake... but let's be real, his past statements have been super shady 
. it's weird that trump isn't pushing for more action against saudi arabia over human rights issues... and honestly, i'm kinda surprised he didn't just stick with what mohammed said in the documentary 
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. Trump's always been a master of deflecting tough questions, and it seems like he's still trying to play both sides here... The fact that he's siding with the Saudi prince on this is just mind-boggling 
. I mean, come on, Jamal Khashoggi was a journalist who spoke out against human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia - you'd think Trump would be more concerned about that than making excuses for his buddy Mohammed bin Salman 
. And let's not forget, the CIA already has evidence pointing to the crown prince's involvement... it's just so obvious 
. I'm starting to lose faith in this president and his ability to make tough decisions on important issues 
.
The way Trump dismissed the question about Jamal Khashoggi's assassination is just weird. I mean, come on, you don't have to be a journalist to know that Khashoggi's murder was super suspicious and should've been investigated further.
i mean, if he knew nothing about it then why did trump make him head of some thing? and crown prince mohammed bin salman was super evasive in his answers too... like isnt that suspicious? anyway, im so confused about trump's stance on this whole thing... does he really think we dont notice what hes doing? 
. He's basically saying that the press is overstepping its bounds, but then kinda just lets it slide 
. It's like he wants us to believe Khashoggi was all alone in his own problems 
. He claims regret and takes responsibility, but it feels like he's just playing politics 
. Trump's stance on this whole thing has me wondering if he's more interested in keeping Saudi Arabia happy than actually doing what's right 
.
: Trump, Khashoggi's family, Saudi Arabia... it's getting pretty complicated 
. Maybe someone can create a flowchart to map out all the conflicting statements 
?
for once, though. It's about time someone took responsibility 
and then saying it's not his problem 
and trump is still all like "it's painfull" 
yeah no dude you're basically getting away with murder 
. And don't even get me started on Trump's attitude towards the press - they're just trying to do their job! It's like he thinks the public is too stupid to handle the truth 
. We need someone who's gonna stand up for what's right, not just play politics