Trump, crown prince united in disdain for press

In October of 2018, U.S.-based journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Istanbul.

- LORRAINE ALI COLUMNIST

PRESIDENT TRUMP and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a forum this week in Washington.

(Win McNamee Getty Images)

The CIA concluded that the assassination was carried out by Saudi operatives, on order of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The prince denied the accusations, although other U.S. intelligence agencies made the same formal assessment.

Tuesday, President Trump showered the Saudi leader with praise during his first invitation to the White House since the killing. “We've been really good friends for along period of time,” said Trump. “We've always been on the same side of every issue.”

Clearly. Their shared disdain — and fear — of a free press was evident, from downplaying the killing of Khashoggi to snapping at ABC News reporter Mary Bruce when she asked about his murder.

“You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” Trump said, then proceeded to debase a journalist who wasn’t there to report on the event because he’d been silenced, forever.

Referring to Khashoggi, he said, “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didnt like him, things happen.”