President Trump was grilled about his close ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday, amidst mounting pressure over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The questions came in a tense interview with ABC News' Mary Bruce, who had also asked 9/11 families to voice their outrage over the crown prince's visit to Washington.
Trump was forced to defend his friendship with bin Salman, denying any knowledge about the Khashoggi hit that occurred at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year. "We're not going to blame Saudi Arabia," Trump said flatly. He claimed he had "no idea" about the murder and insisted that the US should focus on finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Yemen, where bin Salman's forces are embroiled.
Meanwhile, Khashoggi's family has expressed their fury at the crown prince's visit, saying it was an insult to the memory of Jamal. His son Abdullah said: "This is the most insulting thing I've ever heard. The fact that he (the king) would come here and shake hands with him without knowing what had happened... It's like we're not even human."
Trump was forced to defend his friendship with bin Salman, denying any knowledge about the Khashoggi hit that occurred at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year. "We're not going to blame Saudi Arabia," Trump said flatly. He claimed he had "no idea" about the murder and insisted that the US should focus on finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Yemen, where bin Salman's forces are embroiled.
Meanwhile, Khashoggi's family has expressed their fury at the crown prince's visit, saying it was an insult to the memory of Jamal. His son Abdullah said: "This is the most insulting thing I've ever heard. The fact that he (the king) would come here and shake hands with him without knowing what had happened... It's like we're not even human."
like khashoggi's murder? it's not like he was friends with the guy or somethin', but still they hang out and take pics together, and now trump is all about keepin' it cool and not rockin the boat 
meanwhile, khashoggi's family is losin their minds over here 
gotta wonder what would happen if a similar situation went down in usa...
And the fact that he's basically saying they're off the hook for Khashoggi's murder... it's just crazy. I keep thinking back to those 9/11 families, they must be feeling so betrayed right now. The crown prince's visit was just a slap in the face, and Trump's response is like, "Meh, let's focus on something else". It's all just so... divisive 
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The more I read about it, the more I'm convinced that Trump is either not aware of the full extent of his friendship with MBS or he's just not willing to admit it 
. This whole thing is still super sad. I don't think it's right that Trump is defending his friendship with bin Salman, especially when it comes to the murder of a journalist who was just trying to do his job. It's like, what even is the point of having friends if they're not going to stand up for you in times of crisis? 
, i mean who ignores a murder? and to make matters worse he's trying to spin the whole thing as some sort of peace effort lol. bin salman has got to be getting some serious briefings from trump if he thinks that's gonna fly in america 
but seriously though khashoggis family is right on point, it's like they're not even human to him 
And what's really concerning is that he's choosing to focus on Yemen instead of addressing the Saudi crown prince's actions directly. It feels like he's more concerned with maintaining a good relationship with Saudi Arabia than with justice for Jamal's family 
I mean, they're literally the best thing since sliced bread! The crunch on the crust is everything. Anyway, back to Trump and his BFF with a Saudi crown prince... what's up with that? Can't we just focus on some world peace instead of all this drama? And btw, who knew having a 9/11 family interview was a thing? Like, didn't we already cover that in school or something? 
. I get that he's trying to maintain a good relationship with Saudi, but at what cost? It's time for him to take a firmer stance on human rights 
. On one hand, Trump is being super transparent about his friendship with bin Salman, which I guess is good for transparency and all that 
. But then again, isn't it a bit concerning that he's denying any knowledge about the Khashoggi murder? Like, shouldn't he be more forthcoming about something like that? 
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i was watching this interview with my friends in math class and we were all talking about how it couldn't be true - he really doesn't know anything about the murder 
they're going through so much pain and grief already