Donald Trump's Defense of Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Murder: A Timeline of Statements

US President Donald Trump publicly defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman against US intelligence findings regarding the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. When confronted by a reporter, Trump characterized Khashoggi as "extremely controversial" and noted that "a lot of people didn't like" him.

Trump rejected the intelligence community's conclusion, insisting the crown prince had no involvement in the murder that occurred inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

"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 stated, further adding, "You don't have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that."

CNN reported these comments represented one of Trump's strongest public defenses of the Saudi leader.

Since 2018, Trump has consistently prioritized the crown prince's denial over assessments from US intelligence agencies.

Shortly after Khashoggi's death, when questioned about potential changes in his approach toward Riyadh, Trump emphasized Saudi Arabia's economic importance, stating, "I don't like stopping massive amounts of money that's being poured into our country."

While acknowledging the US didn't like the killing "even a little bit," he pointedly noted that Khashoggi "is not a United States citizen."

Later that day on CBS, Trump referenced Saudi leaders' vehement denials, suggesting the US would be "very upset and angry if that were the case," but again warned against risking defense purchases.

According to CNN, Trump continued amplifying Saudi denials. On October 16, 2018, he tweeted about speaking with the Crown Prince "who totally denied any knowledge of what took place in their Turkish Consulate," and mentioned an internal investigation was proceeding.

Weeks afterward, Trump questioned whether anyone could definitively determine the crown prince's involvement, telling Fox News, "I don't know -- you know, who can really know," though acknowledging that individuals "close" to the prince "were probably involved."

The following day, despite multiple media outlets reporting CIA assessments connecting the crown prince directly to the killing, Trump claimed, "As of this moment, we were told that he did not play a role."

He simultaneously highlighted Saudi Arabia's importance as an economic and strategic partner, emphasizing the kingdom provided "a lot of jobs" and "a lot of business."

In a written statement dated November 20, 2018, Trump condemned the killing as "an unacceptable and horrible crime" while stressing that "King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge."

He added the ambiguous assessment, "Maybe he did and maybe he didn't!" and emphasized that "our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

CNN reported that Trump later insisted "The CIA did not say affirmatively he did it," despite US lawmakers who attended classified briefings stating they were convinced the crown prince had directed the operation.

In early 2019, Trump again emphasized Saudi Arabia's economic significance while describing the killing as a "terrible event," stating, "I'm not making excuses for anybody. I think that was a terrible tragedy. It was a terrible crime."

When a UN investigator called for an FBI investigation, Trump responded in June 2019 that the matter "has been heavily investigated." When asked by whom, he simply replied, "By everybody," before once again highlighting the importance of Saudi purchases of US goods.