When it comes to the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, it's complicated

0:00President Biden once vowed to make Saudi Arabia a pariah state. We were going to, in fact, make them pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are. And by pay the price, Biden is referring to the Saudi government's role in the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The U.S. intelligence community concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the killing. Saudi Arabia has denied his role. There's very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia. But after promising to punish the kingdom, Biden changed his tune. After he became president, Biden traveled to Riyadh in 2022 to rebuild relations, but kept the Saudi government an arm's length away until today.

0:46We have an extremely respected man in the Oval Office today and a friend of mine for a long time, a very good friend of mine. President Trump welcomed the crown prince to the White House with a level of pomp and circumstance rarely on display. There was a military flyover. And a welcome from the U.S. Marine Band. Mohammed bin Salman last visited the U.S. seven years ago, just months before Khashoggi's death. The crown prince has denied responsibility for the killing. Here he is at the White House on Tuesday. It's been painful for us in Saudi Arabia. We've did all the right steps of investigation, et cetera, in Saudi Arabia.

1:25And 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. Trump dismissed the findings Tuesday. It's a signal to friends and foes alike that you can literally get away with murder if you're the right kind of partner to the United States. That's Jason Rezaian. He's the director for press freedom initiatives at The Washington Post, the paper where Khashoggi was a columnist when he was murdered. He spoke to NPR Tuesday morning. I think it's a mistake for the United States to greenlight the type of behavior that Mohammed bin Salman has been guilty of multiple times.

2:06Consider this. President Trump is deepening the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, despite the government coming under fire for human rights abuses, despite the concerns the prince himself ordered the killing of a journalist. Why is Saudi Arabia such an important ally for the United States?

2:28From NPR, I'm Juana Summers.

2:37It's Consider This from NPR. President Trump met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday. The men touted a deal between the two countries. The Saudi government would bring hundreds of billions in investment into the United States, and in exchange, the United States would grant access to key military and technology assets for the Gulf Nation. NPR White House correspondent Daniel Kurtzleben joined me to talk about the meeting. So, Daniel, I know that there is a whole lot of ceremony around the crown prince's arrival and this evening there is a black tie dinner. What does all of this tell us about the way that President Trump is approaching this visit?

3:15Well, it shows very clearly that Trump is really excited about the visit. After all, he's welcomed many foreign leaders this year and he doesn't give them all swanky dinners. So the tone is celebratory. Already today in the Oval Office with the crown prince, Trump was emphasizing potential Saudi investments in the U.S. and really seemed excited about that. So we should expect a lot of investment talk. In fact, there's an event tomorrow called the U.S. Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center. And it's set to include speakers from tech, oil and medicine pharma companies. And so it's really meant to telegraph that the Saudi-U.S.

3:51partnership is going to be great for business. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly come under fire for human rights abuses. I'm thinking specifically of the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. And that did come up during today's presser. Let's listen. As far as this gentleman is concerned, he's done a phenomenal job. 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 happen, but he knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don't have to embarrass our guests by asking a question like that.

4:27And I'll note that U.S. intelligence has found that Mohammed bin Salman did approve the operation to kill Khashoggi. However, we should say that the crown prince does deny having a role. Tell us more about that exchange today. Well, even before Khashoggi came up at the start of the meeting, Trump praised the crown prince on his human rights record. And then when a reporter asked about Khashoggi, as you heard, President Trump got angry and shockingly didn't condemn the killing and dismemberment of a journalist from an American news outlet. Rather, Trump called Khashoggi, who was Saudi, controversial.

5:04Now, the crown prince did answer after that, and he said the killing was a painful incident and that his country has taken steps to make sure nothing like that will ever happen again. Right. Okay. We know that economics and security, they're both top priorities here. What deals are the U.S. and Saudi Arabia hoping to get out of this visit? Well, let's start with what Saudi Arabia wants. That country wants to buy advanced F-35 jets, which Trump has said this week the U.S. will sell to them. Saudi Arabia also wants access to advanced AI chips, and they want U.S. assistance on developing nuclear power.

5:37Although today in that meeting, Trump said nuclear cooperation isn't urgent right now. But finally, the Saudis are looking for a defense pact. They want an agreement that the U.S. would help defend their country if they were attacked. And what about what the U.S. wants? Well, the crown prince has already said earlier this year that his country would do$600 billion in investments in the U.S. Today, he said there could be even more investments than that, which Trump got pretty excited about. But also, Trump is going to be pushing Saudi Arabia to sign on to the Abraham Accords, which is a series of diplomatic deals he brokered in his first term between Israel and other Arab countries.

6:16But there's a pretty significant hurdle to that happening. Today, Mohammed bin Salman said he wants to be part of the Abraham Accords, but also wants a two-state solution. Now, Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Israel, has said there will never be a Palestinian state. Last thing, and quickly, Danielle, President Trump was also asked today about his family's business dealings in Saudi Arabia. How do you respond? Well, he brushed off any concerns about conflicts of interest. He said he isn't involved in the family business right now. But the ties between the Trump Organization and Saudi Arabia are still there.

6:47For example, Trump-branded properties are being developed in Saudi Arabia. NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, thank you. Thank you. This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez and Karen Zamora. It was edited by Jeanette Woods, Dana Farrington, and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan.

7:12It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Juana Summers.

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12:56Well, thank you very much, everybody. We have an extremely respected man in the Oval Office today and a friend of mine for a long time, a very good friend of mine. And I'm very proud of the job he's done. What he's done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else. And he's the Crown Prince, the future king, and I just Thank you.