A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Sitting beside Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office yesterday, President Trump dismissed a question about the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You don't have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.
CROWN PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN: Just - he asked, Mr. President.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
U.S. intelligence found that the Saudi crown prince approved the operation that led to Khashoggi's dismemberment and killing. He denies any personal involvement. The exchange highlights a tension with Saudi Arabia - an important ally in the Middle East - that stretches beyond the current administration.
MARTÍNEZ: Here to discuss the visit is NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben. Danielle, that was quite the exchange.
DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE: It really was. And to explain it, it started during an Oval Office meeting when a journalist asked the crown prince about Khashoggi and also about 9/11. The journalist noted that there are families of 9/11 victims who were angry that the prince was visiting as some believe the Saudi government was involved in the 9/11 attacks. So the journalist asked why Americans should trust the crown prince. Trump jumped in and responded, saying Salman has done a, quote, "phenomenal job." Then he turned to the topic of Khashoggi, who is a Saudi journalist who was critical of the Saudi government.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. 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 he knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that.
KURTZLEBEN: But then the crown prince said that, no, he would respond as well, and he had this to say.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SALMAN: We did all the right steps of investigation, et cetera, in Saudi Arabia, and we've improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that. And it's painful, and it's a huge mistake. And we are doing our best that this doesn't happen again.
KURTZLEBEN: It's really notable the two different tones there - the crown prince acting regretful about the killing, while Trump not only didn't condemn the death but got defensive. One more thing we should add is Khashoggi's widow has criticized Trump's comments, saying, quote, "there is no justification to murder my husband."
MARTÍNEZ: Other than that tense moment, it sounded like this visit was really about cooperation between the two countries.
KURTZLEBEN: Very much. And we learned last night that Saudi Arabia and the U.S. signed a whole string of agreements. Just to tick through a few, they agreed to cooperate on creating nuclear energy, to work together on AI. There was a defense agreement, which the White House said would make it easier for U.S. defense firms to operate in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. agreed to sell the Saudis F-35 fighter jets, and the White House announced Saudi Arabia is pledging to invest a trillion dollars in the U.S. Now, that's a lot of stuff that they say they signed. But also, there just haven't been a lot of details on those things yet. We're still waiting on the text of some of those agreements, for example.
But there was one more big development. Last night, at a black-tie dinner, Trump announced that Saudi Arabia is now a major non-NATO ally. The U.S. confers that particular designation on select countries. It gives those countries special defense and financial relationships with the U.S. For example, their firms can bid on some defense contracts, and they can cooperate on research.
MARTÍNEZ: I know the president also has hopes of getting Saudi Arabia to sign on to the Abraham Accords. Any progress on that?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, it did come up in that Oval Office meeting. The crown prince said that he wants to sign on, but he also wants a two-state solution to the conflict in Gaza. Well, the leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said there will never be a Palestinian state. So that's a fundamental roadblock.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. One more day on the visit. What's on the schedule?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, today, there's a Saudi-U.S. investment forum at the Kennedy Center, and it's set to feature executives from some major companies like Chevron, Pfizer and Nvidia. And it's possible that we'll learn more about some of these potential investments then.
MARTÍNEZ: That's White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben. Thanks a lot.
KURTZLEBEN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
