The world continues to reel from the apparent state sponsored killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was lured into the Saudi consulate in Turkey and slaughtered, according to available, although in some cases incomplete, evidence. President Donald Trump faced questioning from 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl over what he’s going to do about the situation — and let’s just say, his response revealed where his true loyalties lie.
His administration has maintained a close relationship with the Saudis from the very beginning. Saudi Arabia is the first country he visited as U.S. president, signing a massive arms deal with the country that had previously been put on hold due to concerns about the weapons being used on innocent civilians.
Neither these concerns nor concern over the apparent murder of a prominent Arab journalist sit at the top of the list for Trump, though. For him, it’s just jobs, jobs, jobs. Since the current positive developments in the U.S. economy are simply the continuation of trendlines established during the Obama administration, it might be more accurate to say that for Trump, it’s just rhetoric, rhetoric, rhetoric.
Asked if he would go along with sanctions against the Saudis that may emerge in Congress depending on exact future developments in the Khashoggi case, the president told Stahl:
‘It depends on what the sanction is. I’ll give you an example — they are ordering military equipment. Everybody in the world wanted that order — Russia wanted it, China wanted it, we wanted it. We got it, and we got all of it — every bit of it… I’ll tell you what I don’t want to do. Boeing, Lockheed, Raytheon, all these companies — I don’t wanna hurt jobs. I don’t want to lose an order like that, and you know what? There are other ways of punishing, to use a word that’s a pretty harsh word, but it’s true… We’re going to get to the bottom of it, and there will be severe punishment.’
Why does it matter what Russia and China want? They’re powerful nations, yes, but they’re not generally on the U.S. side of global alignments. Additionally, why can’t he just go along with the idea of “punishing” a nation — harsh word and all — for murdering a journalist?
Asked previously for his take on whether the evidence points the finger at the Saudis or away from them, Trump offered another answer conjuring images of capitulation before dictators. In particular, his response calls to mind his incessant dismissal of the evidence for Russian meddling in U.S. elections.
He said:
‘Nobody knows yet, but we’ll probably be able to find out. It’s being investigated. It’s being looked at very, very strongly, and we would be very upset and angry if that were the case. As of this moment, they deny it and they deny it vehemently. Could it be them? Yes… They deny it. They deny it every way you can imagine. In the not too distant future, I think we’ll know an answer.’
Watch below.
It’s not the first time that he’s given a less than optimal response to questioning about the case, having previously noted, for instance, that Khashoggi isn’t an American citizen — although he is, or was, a green card holder.
It’s the latest in a long list of instances of Trump turning a blind eye.
Featured Image via screenshot from the video
