Why the U.S. won't quit Saudi Arabia

为何美国不会放弃沙特阿拉伯

Post Reports

2025-11-20

27 分钟
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This week, President Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. At a grand White House dinner, an investment summit at the Kennedy Center and a sit-down in the Oval Office, the leaders appeared to be in lockstep. It was a stark contrast to 2018, when the U.S. intelligence community concluded that Mohammed had approved the killing and dismemberment of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Lawmakers condemned the crown prince and withdrew support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.  Today, Elahe Izadi speaks to White House correspondent Michael Birnbaum about how the crown prince was welcomed back into the fold — and why the U.S. refuses to cut ties with Saudi Arabia.   Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy with help from Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Annah Aschbrenner. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
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  • Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman used to be considered a pariah.

  • In 2018, the U.S.

  • intelligence community concluded that he had approved the killing and dismemberment of a Washington Post columnist,

  • Jamal Khashoggi.

  • U.S.

  • lawmakers condemned the crown prince.

  • They passed a resolution blaming him for Khashoggi's death.

  • And the U.S.

  • withdrew support from a Saudi-led war in Yemen.

  • But Muhammad bin Salman's pariah status didn't last long.

  • President Donald Trump pulled out all the stops this week for Muhammad bin Salman's first visit to the U.S.

  • since Khashoggi's killing.

  • There was an F-35 flyover in Washington.

  • A grand White House dinner with Wall Street executives and tech CEOs.

  • He has become a true partner for peace and prosperity for our countries and for the world and for peace in the Middle East.

  • An investment summit at the Kennedy Center.

  • I want to thank my friend, a great gentleman,

  • Crown Prince Mohammed of Saudi Arabia for his bold leadership and deep commitment to the ties between our two countries.

  • Thank you.

  • Thank you.