The Washington Post’s editorial board eviscerated President Donald Trump’s defense of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over Jamal Khashoggi’s 2018 murder on Tuesday, saying Trump’s comments about the late Post columnist were “beneath the office of the president.”
During an Oval Office gaggle, Trump tore into an ABC News reporter who asked the Saudi leader about U.S. intelligence’s confirmation that he approved of the U.S.-based Khashoggi’s murder. “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,” the president said. “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen, but he knew nothing about it.”
While the WaPo editorial board acknowledged the apparent necessity of the U.S. working with the Saudi government — a known repressor of dissent within its borders — they said Trump’s remark “was something else entirely: weak, crass and of no strategic benefit to America.”
“These distortions dishonor Khashoggi’s legacy, stand at odds with the facts and are beneath the office of the president,” the board continued.
The board also noted that the prince’s response to the query — ”It’s painful and it’s a huge mistake. And we are doing our best that this doesn’t happen again” — was “offensive” and “insufficient.” Yet, they added, it was “somehow better than Trump’s response.”
“The reality is that while Trump advocates peace through strength, he showed nothing but debility,” the editorial board wrote. “No doubt other dictators took note. Legitimizing and defending Mohammed this way will embolden him and his ilk to mistreat not just journalists but any Americans — knowing that they’ll probably face no real consequences.”
“The relationship with Saudi Arabia still produces some benefits, but even in a complicated world, an American president should be able to respect Khashoggi’s legacy while conducting the messy business of statecraft,” they concluded. “Forgetting Mohammed’s brutality and Khashoggi’s warnings is a choice, and Trump made the wrong one.”
