”He Didn’t Think He’d Be Kissing My A**”: Trump on Saudi Crown Prince Salman

Mar 28, 2026 | At the Future Investment Initiative conference in Florida, US President Donald Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had not expected events to unfold this way where he would have to show such deference to Trump. ‘MBS didn’t think this was going to happen. He didn’t think he’d be kissing my ass. He really didn’t,’ Trump said. The comments come amid heightened tensions in West Asia [Middle East] due to the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran, which continues to unsettle global markets.

Trump is such a brash, vile, vulgar man! I never thought that I would ever hear a president of the USA speak in such a vile, vulgar manner. When a man in high office speaks, one expects to hear a man speaking with elegance, grace, and dignity. One does not expect to hear him speak as a badly raised little brat in the street! Shame on Trump, and shame on Americans for electing this unsuitable man to the highest office in the land. — © Mark Alexander

'He Didn't Think He'd Be Kissing My Ass': Trump's Whacky Reference to Saudi Crown Prince MBS

“US President Donald Trump talked about Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman crudely at a recent event. Trump's comments come at a time when the US-Israel war against Iran continues to roil the West Asia region and fan uncertainty in global markets. Speaking at a Saudi-backed investment forum, he said, "He didn't think this was going to happen. He didn't think he'd be kissing my ass. He really didn't."” [Source: THE ECONOMIC TIMES | Saturday, March 28, 2026]

Ukraine Signs Deal with Saudi Arabia Offering Drone Expertise

BBC: President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has signed a deal with Saudi Arabia to share its drone defence expertise and technology.

Zelensky said Saudi Arabia was facing the same type of ballistic missile and drone attacks from Iran that Ukraine had been resisting for more than four years from Russia.

"We are ready to share our expertise and systems with Saudi Arabia and to work together to strengthen the protection of lives," he said in a post on X.

Ahead of a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Zelensky posted that the defence deal laid the foundation for future contracts, technological cooperation and investment.

"Saudi Arabia also has capabilities that are of interest to Ukraine, and this cooperation can be mutually beneficial," the Ukrainian president added.

Zelensky said he had also discussed with Mohammed bin Salman reports that Russia was assisting Iran's regime, as well as developments in the fuel market and energy co-operation.

On Thursday, in a video message to the Joint Expeditionary Force, a security alliance which held a summit meeting in Helsinki, Zelensky said: "The key is not only producing new weapons - especially drones - not just technology, but also real experience in using it, and integrating it with radars, aviation, and other air defence systems. We have this experience," he added.

Zelensky said that in exchange he would be looking for assistance in defending Ukraine against the ongoing Russian invasion. » | Vitaly Shevchenko | Reporting from Kyiv | Thursday, March 26, 2026

Saudi Leader Is Said to Push Trump to Continue Iran War in Recent Calls

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees a “historic opportunity” to remake the region, according to people briefed by U.S. officials on the conversations.

Screenshot taken from this NYT article. | President Trump hosted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia at the White House last year.| Credit...Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been pushing President Trump to continue the war against Iran, arguing that the U.S.-Israeli military campaign presents a “historic opportunity” to remake the Middle East, according to people briefed by American officials on the conversations.

In a series of conversations over the last week, Prince Mohammed has conveyed to Mr. Trump that he must press toward the destruction of Iran’s hard-line government, the people familiar with the conversations said.

Prince Mohammed, the people familiar with the discussions said, has argued that Iran poses a long-term threat to the Gulf that can only be eliminated by getting rid of the government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel also views Iran as a long-term threat, but analysts say Israeli officials would probably view a failed Iranian state that is too caught up in internal turmoil to menace Israel as a win, while Saudi Arabia views a failed state in Iran as a grave and direct security threat.

But senior officials in both the Saudi and American governments worry that if the conflict drags on, Iran could deliver ever more punishing attacks on Saudi oil installations and the United States could be stuck in an endless war. » | Julian E. Barnes, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt | Reporting from Washington | Tuesday, March 24, 2026

“Utter Disaster for All Involved”: Is Trump’s War on Iran Repeating Bush’s “Forever War” in Iraq?

Mar 4, 2026 | The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is now in its fifth day. Following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Israel has made it clear that it intends to target any official successors. Observers also warn that Israel could soon deploy its "Dahiya doctrine," a military strategy it first developed in Lebanon that involves carpet-bombing densely populated residential areas. Despite U.S. hopes for a short engagement, however, Iran appears to be settling in for a "war of attrition" against "the biggest military superpower in world history, and the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East," says scholar Narges Bajoghli. "This could turn into a regional war of a scale that will make the past 25 years of forever wars in the Middle East seem like a walk in the park."

Democracy Now! can be supported here.

Executions in Saudi Arabia Hit Highest Number on Record in 2025

THE GUARDIAN: Analysts attribute increase to kingdom’s ‘war on drugs’ as authorities kill 356 people by death penalty

Saudi authorities executed 356 people in 2025, setting a new record for the number of inmates put to death in the kingdom in a single year.

Analysts have largely attributed the increase in executions to Riyadh’s “war on drugs”, with some of those arrested in previous years only now being executed after legal proceedings and convictions.

Official data released by the Saudi government said 243 people were executed in drug-related cases in 2025 alone, according to a tally kept by Agence France-Presse.

The figures mark the second consecutive year in which Saudi Arabia has carried out its highest number of executions, after authorities executed 338 people in 2024.

Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug offences at the end of 2022, after suspending the use of the death penalty in narcotics cases for about three years. » | Agence France-Presse in Dubai | Thursday, January 1, 2026

The rich get pleasure from shopping sprees; the ruthless, from execution sprees! — © Mark Alexander

Saudi Arabia, between Repression and Transformation | DW Documentary

Jan 1, 2026 | Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. For almost a decade, he has been radically transforming the country — at a breathtaking pace. Where is the modernizer and despot steering the kingdom?

Saudi Arabia is the world's leading exporter of crude oil. But Crown Prince MBS wants to prepare the country for the post-oil era. Two-thirds of the country's population is under 30 years old, and the crown prince is taking radical measures to turn the previously strictly conservative society on its head.

The documentary shows how contradictory Mohammed bin Salman's ambitions for his "Vision 2030" are, as it takes a look behind the scenes of the transformation.

On the one hand, there is the "Neom" project, which aims to create a futuristic new megacity in the desert. Tourism is to be expanded, major music and sporting events are to be brought to the country, and an extravagant lifestyle is being promoted.

At the same time, an authoritarian style of government continues to prevail, dissidents are sometimes brutally suppressed, and women's rights are still not fully granted - even if the influence of the ultra-conservative religious leaders of Wahhabism is no longer as strong as it once was.

Mohammad bin Salman: Prince with Two Faces

Feb 7, 2025 | Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman (known as MBS), at only 34 years old, leads a state in Western Asia with immense oil reserves that significantly impact the global economy. This country is also home to Islam's holiest sites and remains the world's largest arms buyer. Accused of orchestrating the brutal assassination of a journalist and the kidnapping of a foreign Prime Minister, engaged in a bloody war in Yemen, and determined to counter Iran at all costs, MBS is also a key partner in the fight against terrorism and is implementing spectacular reforms that are reshaping his kingdom.

Democracy Now! Sarah Leah Whitson on Israel, Gaza & Trump-MBS Meeting

Nov 26, 2025 | Since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect, Israel has killed more than 342 civilians, including 67 children. To talk about all of this and Trump's controversial Oval Office meeting with Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman we are joined by Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of DAWN, an organization working to reform U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. She is co-author of the new book, "From Apartheid to Democracy: A Blueprint for Peace in Israel-Palestine"

Inside the Mind of Mohammed bin Salman: Karen Elliott House on Saudi Arabia, Khashoggi & Our Future

Nov 14, 2025 | Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Karen Elliott House joins Frank Schaeffer to talk about her remarkable new book, "The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia."

Across four decades of reporting on the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, Karen has developed rare access to the kingdom’s inner world — including seven in-depth meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), often late at night inside the palace.

The ‘Good Friend’ Lining Trump's Pockets

Nov 21, 2025 | Donald Trump's ‘good friend' is helping enrich the Trump family with new real estate and crypto deals.

In return, Trump rolls out the red carpet for the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

Donald Trump Is Desecrating All Over the World

Steve Schmidt enlarges on this assertion.

Bernie Sanders: “Trump Welcomed a Murderer to the White House.”

Bernie explains.

Trump’s Fawning Meeting With the Saudi Prince Was a Disgrace

THE NEW YORK TIMES — OPINION: The realities of geopolitics have long required the United States to ally itself with foreign leaders who commit terrible deeds. Defeating foreign threats often requires the help of countries that fall far short of being liberal democracies that respect human rights. Saudi Arabia is a classic example of such a country today. It both has a disturbing human rights record and is a legitimately valuable American partner in countering Iran’s aggressions and building a more stable Middle East.

But working with imperfect partners does not mean that the United States should cover up and lie about their misdeeds, as President Trump did when receiving Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, in the Oval Office on Tuesday. It was a fawning, cringe-worthy performance that belied America’s more powerful status. It was absolution rather than realpolitik.

Mr. Trump embraced the prince’s implausible claim of innocence in the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and journalist, and berated Mary Bruce, of ABC News, for asking about the killing. The C.I.A. has concluded that the crown prince almost certainly ordered the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, a critic of the prince who was living in self-imposed exile in the United States and was murdered while visiting a Saudi consulate in Turkey. A United Nations investigator and a coalition of nongovernmental organizations reached similar conclusions. » | The Editorial Board | Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Saudi Arabia Backs Elon Musk’s xAI With Data Center Deal

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Mr. Musk’s xAI will work with the Saudi artificial intelligence company Humain on a new data center, part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s effort to diversify his kingdom’s economy.

Elon Musk has been hunting for partners to grow his artificial intelligence start-up xAI as it tries to keep pace with OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has been trying to diversify his oil-rich kingdom’s economy by making it a global hub for tech and artificial intelligence.

On Wednesday, their intersecting interests led to a deal.

Mr. Musk’s xAI, which makes the Grok chatbot, agreed to work with the state-backed Saudi company Humain to build a new data center in the Persian Gulf kingdom. The project is set to consume as much as 500 megawatts of electricity, which would make it xAI’s biggest data center outside the United States. Humain and xAI did not disclose the value of the deal.

The project was part of a package of military and tech deals announced on Wednesday during Prince Mohammed’s visit to Washington. The United States and Saudi Arabia appear to have reached an agreement that clears the path for the kingdom to buy the U.S. semiconductors needed to power artificial intelligence, as the United States has used A.I. chips as part of geopolitical diplomacy. » | Adam Satariano and Paul Mozur | Wednesday, November 19, 2025

IHIP News: Trump Loses All Control with Another Outburst in the Oval Office, Defends Murderous Dictator.

Nov 19, 2025 | Trump threw an absolute temper tantrum in the Oval Office meeting with MBS.

BEWARE! This video contains some foul language, but it needs to be heard. Nb: Its content is also not for the faint-hearted. — Mark

Trump Welcomes Saudi Arabian Dictator with Open Arms

Nov 19, 2025 | After meeting with Saudi Arabian dictator Mohammed Bin Salman in the White House, it's clear Trump can be bought by anyone. Steve Schmidt reacts to this meeting and highlights the corruption in Trump's regime and beyond.

Trump Gets 'Positive and Chummy' with the 'International Pariah' Saudi Arabia Leader

Nov 19, 2025 | "There was a huge kind of turnaround in his position internationally."

Trump was "positive and chummy" in a press conference with Saudi Arabia leader MBS despite the questions turning to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, says White House Correspondent for Reuters Jeff Mason.

Inside Trump and Mohammed bin Salman’s Relationship: ‘They’re Soulmates’

Nov 19, 2025 | “Trump's response to that reporter was a terrible slur, and a major statement about what's going on in America right now.”

After President Trump welcomed the Saudi crown prince to the White House and defended him over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, editor of Arab Digest Bill Law says it points to the two leaders being "soulmates".

Trump's 'Piggy' Comment to Journalist a Sign of His 'Unease'

Nov 19, 2025 | “The optics are all very strange.”

Trump seems “very uneasy at the moment” after he calls a journalist ‘piggy’ in response to her question about Epstein, says The Times’s Ben Clatworthy.