In a move that has drawn significant criticism, President Donald Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for an opulent White House dinner, just hours after publicly defending the royal against allegations concerning the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A Lavish Affair and a Major Announcement
The black-tie event, held on Tuesday evening in the candlelit East Room, featured piano music and was attended by a who's who of global elites. Among the guests were Elon Musk, Cristiano Ronaldo, and top executives from companies including Apple, Paramount, and General Motors.
Although technically not a state dinner, the affair possessed all the grandeur of one. During the proceedings, President Trump made a stunning announcement, revealing that the United States was designating Saudi Arabia as a "major non-NATO ally." This status grants the kingdom significant benefits in defence trade and security cooperation, and the declaration was reportedly met with an audible gasp from the assembled guests.
Defending the Crown Prince
Earlier that same day, during a meeting in the Oval Office, President Trump had robustly defended the crown prince when a reporter questioned him about MBS's alleged involvement in the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump dismissed Khashoggi as an "extremely controversial" figure and asserted that the Saudi leader "knew nothing about it." He scolded the reporter, stating, "You don't have to embarrass our guests." For his part, Prince Mohammed claimed Saudi Arabia had "did all the right things" to investigate the death, which he described as a "painful" event.
This dinner marked the crown prince's first invitation to the White House since the 2018 incident. A US intelligence assessment from 2021 concluded that MBS had "approved" the operation that led to Khashoggi's killing, a claim the prince has consistently denied.
Celebrity Glamour and Political Backlash
President Trump openly revelled in the star-studded nature of the evening, boasting to the crowd, "This room is loaded up with the biggest leaders in the world, business, sports." He shared a personal anecdote about his son, Barron, a "big fan" of Cristiano Ronaldo, quipping that the meeting made his son respect him "a little bit more now."
However, the lavish event was not met with universal approval. Prominent Democrats swiftly condemned the President's decision to roll out the red carpet for the Saudi leader.
Senator Elizabeth Warren slammed the dinner on social media, writing, "Hope everyone enjoys their nice dinner honouring a man who the CIA says ordered the murder of a journalist." Similarly, Senator Patty Murray called it a "serious disgrace" to see the US president honouring "a foreign dictator who ordered the killing of a Washington Post journalist."
The evening underscored the deepening, yet controversial, economic and defence partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia, a relationship that Trump has actively sought to strengthen despite significant human rights concerns.
