Trump Welcomes Saudi Crown Prince to White House

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump extended a friendly greeting to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House. This approach sharply contrasts with former President Joe Biden’s fist bump during his visit to Saudi Arabia in July 2022, which received considerable backlash due to an intelligence report implicating bin Salman in the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

When bin Salman arrived, Trump emphasized the need for a more formal greeting. “I’m not going to do a fist pump. I’m going to shake his hand,” Trump told reporters. He compared this to Biden’s brief fist bump after a long flight, stating that such a gesture was inadequate for meeting a future king regarded highly on the global stage.

The Saudi leader’s visit was marked with ceremony, featuring a red carpet and a military honor guard, which underscored the significance of the occasion.

Biden’s earlier encounter with bin Salman included a somewhat tense moment when Biden arrived at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah. While he later downplayed questions about their exchange, he did communicate his belief that the crown prince was responsible for Khashoggi’s murder. Former Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan described Biden’s gesture as more aggressive than a handshake, suggesting it gave bin Salman undeserved affirmation.

In a subsequent meeting at the G20 World Economic Summit in September 2023, Biden and bin Salman did shake hands, reflecting a possible shift in relations.

U.S. intelligence had found, in 2021, that bin Salman had approved the operation that led to Khashoggi’s brutal murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Despite this, bin Salman has denied the allegations. During his White House visit, he expressed that hearing about Khashoggi’s death was “painful” and stressed his commitment to ensuring such tragedies don’t recur.

Trump also came to bin Salman’s defense, challenging a journalist who inquired about the connections to Khashoggi’s case. “Many people didn’t like him, but that doesn’t mean he had prior knowledge of the incident,” Trump remarked, urging the reporter not to put the Saudi leader in an awkward position.

As the diplomatic landscape evolves, the dynamics between U.S. leaders and Saudi Arabia appear set to remain complex and multifaceted.