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Former President Donald Trump seemed to dismiss the 2018 murder of columnist Khashoggi, labeling him an "very contentious" person who was not well-liked.

Oval Office Meeting with Saudi Arabian Leader

The statements were made during a presidential gathering with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, marking the prince's initial trip after the columnist's killing in Istanbul.

Intelligence officials assessed that Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing, yet Trump stated that he "was unaware" about it.

Trump's Reply to Reporter's Inquiry

Trump further rebuked the journalist who raised the matter, suggesting that the broadcaster ought to forfeit its license.

"Many people were not fond of that gentleman you're talking about," the former president stated. "Regardless of your opinion, events unfolded, yet he had no idea."

The crown prince replied, "It is distressing and a major error, and we are doing our best to prevent such incidents in future."

Economic Deals and Military Sales

The meeting also highlighted promised Saudi funding in America, originally presented as a $600bn package, though potentially expanded to one trillion dollars.

The former president confirmed his plan to provide advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets to Riyadh, notwithstanding reservations from Israel and American spy agencies.

The two men additionally revealed discussions about a prospective agreement for Riyadh to establish ties with Israel conditional on a Palestinian state.

Regional Issues and Challenges

The proposed sale of F-35s has sparked concern among Israeli officials, which is the only operator of the F-35 in the region.

American spy agencies have expressed concern given the kingdom's close military cooperation with Beijing, highlighting concerns over technology theft.

Nonetheless, the former president insisted that Riyadh deserves equivalent advanced specification aircraft as the Israelis, pointing to them being "strong partners" of the United States.

Additional Deals

Alongside military transactions, American authorities mentioned plans for massive Saudi Arabian investment in America's AI sector, along with enhanced cooperation in civil nuclear power development.

"We confirm that we will raise the initial amount to almost one trillion," the Saudi leader stated.

Political Challenges

The former president's government is aiming an atomic and defense partnership deal with Saudi Arabia, that the Biden administration previously attempted unsuccessfully to secure.

Yet, the ongoing situation, including the Hamas attack followed by later Israeli military actions in the region, have made difficult the likelihood of normalization.

"After October 7, in my view the price for Saudi to sign up to normalization with the Israelis has increased considerably," a former American diplomat remarked.

Prospective Talks

"We wish to be part the diplomatic deals, yet we also want to guarantee a clear path for a two-state solution," Prince Mohammed stated.

Trump echoed, noting, "We conducted a productive talk regarding normalization. We discussed about potential solutions."

"We discussed about numerous issues briefly. We plan to explore more details," he concluded. "But I think you hold a very good feeling regarding normalization."

Debate Regarding Business Interests

The meeting additionally contentious over alleged connections between the Trump family's commercial ventures and Middle Eastern states.

Trump dismissed the possibility of ethical concerns, asserting he has "withdrawn from his enterprises" and committed "full attention" to the presidency.

"I have nothing regarding my family's enterprises," he remarked. "Their actions is fine. They do business all over. They've done very little with Riyadh, truthfully. I expect they have potential. Whatever they have undertaken has been successful."