Trump Defends Saudi Crown Prince Amid Khashoggi Murder Controversy and Business Ties

Trump's Defense of Crown Prince

• 🎙️ President Trump defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) regarding the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, dismissing the affair as "no big deal."
• 📰 Trump berated a reporter who questioned MBS about his involvement and the lavish welcome he received.
• 🧠 This stance contradicts the US intelligence community's assessment that MBS had knowledge of the murder due to his control over the kingdom and efforts to root out dissidents.

Khashoggi's Widow's Perspective

• 💔 Jamar Khashoggi's widow expressed devastation, stating that while MBS admitted responsibility verbally in a 2019 interview, he took no action to rectify the crime.
• ⚖️ She called for a transparent trial for the 18 individuals involved in the murder and has not received an official apology.
• 😥 She described her seven years of suffering, feeling killed alongside her husband and being spied upon before fleeing the Middle East.

US-Saudi Economic Ties and Investments

• 🤝 The US and Saudi Arabia are expanding business ties, with MBS pledging to spend up to $1 trillion in the United States.
• ✈️ Purchases include F-35 military jets, investments in AI, and civil nuclear technology.
• 📈 Last year, US-Saudi trade in goods and services totaled $40 billion, with US exports including machinery, turbo jet engines, and vehicles.

Saudi Financial Investments in the US

• 💰 Direct financial investment from Saudi individuals or businesses into US businesses amounts to approximately $16.3 billion, funding sectors like transportation, real estate, and automobiles.
• 🏦 Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, estimated at $925 billion and controlled by MBS, directs 40% of its global investments to the US.
• 🌐 This fund has stakes in companies like Uber, Electronic Arts, and Take 2 Interactive, and previously invested in Netflix, Apple, Visa, and Walmart.

Discrepancies in Investment Figures

• ⚠️ The actual total investment could differ from projections, as seen with a 2017 defense agreement initially valued at $110 billion, but actual contracts between 2017 and 2020 totaled closer to $23 billion.
• 📝 Analysts concluded that the higher valuation in the 2017 agreement stemmed from letters of interest rather than guaranteed spending contracts.