Trump protects Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman In Wake of Jamal Khashoggi's Brutal Murder.

Transactional Diplomacy and Khashoggi

• 💡 The Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) highlighted a controversial moment in American foreign policy, prioritizing economic expediency over human rights.
• 📌 Trump publicly dismissed the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite US intelligence concluding MBS approved it, stating "things happen" and MBS "knew nothing about it."
• 💬 Trump chastised a reporter for asking about Khashoggi, calling the journalist "extremely controversial" and aggressively defending MBS.

Economic Incentives and Deals

• 💰 The core of Trump's relationship with MBS was the promise of massive financial deals, initially $600 billion and later projected to nearly $1 trillion in Saudi investment in the US.
• 🚀 Trump prioritized these "jobs, jobs, jobs" promises, viewing MBS as a "dealmaker" and a source of unprecedented economic opportunity.
• ⚠️ Despite the boasts, none of Trump's claimed $20 trillion investment deals materialized, but the economic enticement paved the way for sensitive security deals.

Controversial Security Agreements

• ✈️ Trump confirmed intentions to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to Riyadh, causing alarm in Israel and within the US intelligence community.
• 🚨 Concerns arose over potential theft of F-35 technology due to Saudi Arabia's close security ties with China.
• ✅ Trump brushed off objections, equating Saudi Arabia and Israel as equally deserving allies for advanced weaponry, overturning decades of US security policy.

Conflict of Interest Concerns

• 🧩 The meeting's backdrop involved blurred lines between Trump's family business interests and his official duties.
• 💸 The Trump family business engaged in negotiations for multi-billion dollar investments in Saudi Arabia.
• 🤝 MBS and other Gulf nations were major investors in a fund managed by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, raising serious questions about private financial gain influencing policy.

MBS's Authoritarian Rule

• ⚖️ MBS's domestic rule is marked by a systematic crackdown on dissent and a severe regression in civil liberties, despite some social reforms.
• ⛓️ The regime maintains an absolute monarchy, prosecuting peaceful activism and resulting in many political prisoners, including women's rights activists and journalists.
• 📈 There has been a dramatic surge in the use of the death penalty under MBS, often for non-lethal offenses or acts committed as minors, following trials lacking due process.
• 🚨 MBS has been linked to transnational repression, using tactics like family intimidation and commercial spyware to silence critics abroad.