00:00Now, we're seven years on. The Crown Prince's reputation has certainly taken some hits from its association with the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi back in October of 2018.
00:11But the significance of this visit comes, I guess, maybe think of a couple of different fronts. First, really just reaffirming that Mohammed bin Salman is back, that even beyond the U.S.-Saudi relationship enduring throughout that time period, that he, Mohammed bin Salman himself, is kind of welcomed, at least by the president, back in Washington, D.C., that he's no longer a pariah.
00:41I kind of doubt that President Trump has any
01:11personal problems with that. But certainly during his first term, it was more that it was seen as a major political liability, whereas now in the second term, there are honestly so many stories
01:24flurrying around regarding President Trump, regarding potential conflicts of interest, regarding potential abuse of power, that this is really just no longer ranking in the top 10 and not...
01:35There's certainly ambitions of getting a defense agreement similar to that which Qatar received after the
02:05Israeli strike on the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar back in September.
02:10The hope is that at least you would get kind of an executive order that at least on paper commits the United States to Saudi Arabia's defense.
02:16I think the Trump administration is much more transactional with respect to Saudi Arabia.
02:34As with the first term for President Trump, there's really no emphasis on human rights.
02:38So that's much less of an obstacle for this relationship.
02:42Certainly some of the president's supporters strongly prioritize normalization with Israel, but the president himself seems open to kind of cutting a number of side deals without making the centerpiece of his negotiations.
Comments