In a meeting with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on November 18 about Saudi investment in the U.S., President Trump once again took aim at reporters, with heavy criticism of their work and characters.
The crown prince came to the United States with deep pockets and heavy praise for the president. What started at the beginning of the meeting as a $600 million investment by the Saudi government in the United States ended as a commitment to invest $1 trillion.
Throughout the meeting, Trump celebrated claimed wins of his administration, proclaiming, “gasoline is way down… you will now be seeing two dollar gasoline.” Trump told the crowd in the Oval Office that the United States is the “hottest country in the world,” and spoke throughout the meeting about the total $21 trillion invested in the country. He emphasized the difference to the Biden administration in terms of investments and proceeded to talk about President Biden falling asleep at the beach and the “mess” he left the United States in.
The crown prince and the president celebrated their success in eliminating Iran as a nuclear threat, saying that nobody else could have done so.
When a reporter asked about sanctions lifted in Syria, Trump sidestepped the question. He interrupted her to ask where she was from, and when she responded with Palestine, the president laughed and told the room, “Oh, I’m making a lot of progress, huh?” and later followed up by saying the Palestinians are doing “very well.”
Trump took a moment to admire the fact that he and the crown prince did not have to be meeting with such transparency and an allowance for reporters to ask unfiltered questions, saying how great it was that they could be so open.
Mary Bruce, a reporter from ABC, was the primary target of Trump’s ire. One of her questions put the spotlight on the heavily publicized murder of U.S. journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia. In 2018, U.S. intelligence declared that Mohammed orchestrated the killing of Khashoggi. His remains have still not been returned to his widow. At the very beginning of the meeting, Trump explained that he was “very proud of the job [Mohammed] is doing … in terms of human rights.” He continued to defend this to Bruce, remarking that “things happen” and telling her off for embarrassing the crown prince.
Bruce’s next question caused even more anger when she asked about Jeffery Epstein, sparking an outburst from Trump. He proceeded to call her a “terrible person and a terrible reporter.”
“I have nothing to do with Jeffery Epstein,” the president told Bruce, saying “Epstein is a Democrat hoax” that attempts to not let Trump talk about the $21 trillion he had previously mentioned.
Trump threatened to take away the reporter’s broadcasting license, pointed directly at her and told her that she would not be asking any more questions.
This was not the first time in the week that Trump went after a female reporter for asking questions he did not like, telling one reporter, “Quiet, Piggy” while talking to the media aboard Air Force One.
After making fun of Biden for fistbumping instead of handshaking and claiming that the U.S. was in possession of the best military equipment in the world, the meeting came to an end.