Trump's 'hua toh hua' moment: Did he defend Khashoggi's murder?

In 2018, the CIA under the first Donald Trump administration concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) personally ordered the gruesome murder of US resident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Seven years later, Trump, sitting beside the Crown Prince, made it clear in certain terms that he doesn't care about Khashoggi's killing all that much, just saying that such "things happen".

As if it were not enough, Trump then went on to offer a mind-boggling defence of the Saudi Crown Prince, whose White House visit had all the trappings of a state visit, but it was not. In fact, this was MBS's first visit to the US after Khashoggi's assassination, which rocked the US-Saudi relationship.

However, the Trump of 2017 is different from the Trump of 2025. If that means contradicting his own administration's intelligence assessment, so be it. On Tuesday, Trump not only downplayed Khashoggi's murder, but went on to label the Washington Post columnist as "extremely controversial", who was disliked by many.

"You are mentioning someone who was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you are talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he (the Crown Prince) knew nothing about it," Trump said.

The "things happen" remark by Trump was made so nonchalantly that it appeared as if the murder of Khashoggi, who was dismembered using a bone saw inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, was just a twist of fate.

It reminds one of Congress leader Sam Pitroda's infamous "hua toh hua" remark over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, where around 500 people were killed.

It was not all. Trump also stunned the reporters present at the White House when he publicly rebuked a reporter for bringing up the topic in the Saudi Crown Prince's presence. "You don't have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that," Trump snapped at the reporter.

Khashoggi, a former Saudi royal insider who became a bitter critic of the government, went missing in October 2018 after he visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain papers to marry his Turkish partner. His remains have not been found till date.

A 2021 report by the US concluded that Mohammed bin Salman approved the murder of Khashoggi. While Washington sanctioned several Saudi officials, it stopped short of targeting the future Saudi king.

On Tuesday, the Crown Prince, sitting calmly as Trump did his bidding, just said that Saudi Arabia "did all the right steps" to investigate the killing, which he called "painful".

That was all, full stop. But the whole incident reverberated on social media as analysts and experts castigated Trump for seemingly defending Khashoggi's murder by casting aspersions on his character.

"Trump's Oval Office whitewash of Khashoggi's brutal murder proves he is not just a liar, but a gutless enabler of butchers who threaten the free press he pretends to champion," Richard Angwin, a political commentator, tweeted.

Another geopolitical analyst, Pyotr Kurzin, quipped, "All to ensure China doesn't get more influence". It is well known that Saudi Arabia is among the few Arab nations that have good relations with China.

Trump's overtures to the Crown Prince and his decision to allow the sale of the advanced F-35 jets are being seen as a move to keep Saudi Arabia out of China's sphere.

A section of social media users suggested that Trump's defence of the Crown Prince was purely due to business, as the Saudis have hefty investments in his family's real estate and other business interests. It includes a $2 billion investment in Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's firm.

- Ends