October 11, 2018

Don’t Let One Missing Journalist Get In the Way of $110 Billion in Saudi Arms Sales, Trump Says

Brushing back calls for a response, Trump notes Jamal Khashoggi was “not a United States citizen.”

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected calls to halt $110 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite mounting reports indicating the kingdom played a direct role in the disappearance of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi critic, went missing after entering the country’s consulate in Istanbul last week. A Turkish inquiry has reportedly concluded he was murdered inside the building.

“What good does that do us?” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, in reference to calls to cancel the arms deal. “There are other things we can do.”

“We don’t like it even a little bit,” he continued, speaking of Khashoggi’s disappearance. “But as to whether or not we should stop $110 billion from being spent in this country knowing they have four or five alternatives, two very good alternatives, that would not be acceptable to me.”

While the president claimed to “not like” the unfolding diplomatic crisis, he also appeared startlingly unfamiliar with key details surrounding Khashoggi’s disappearance. In the middle of his remarks, the president asked for some help: “This took place in Turkey and to the best of our knowledge, Khashoggi is not a United States citizen, is that right, or is that right?”

“Permanent resident,” a reporter clarified. Trump seemed to register the fact as if he were learning it for the first time.

Trump’s refusal to stop the arms sales comes amid increasing demands from bipartisan lawmakers for Trump to hold the Saudi Arabian government accountable for Khashoggi’s alleged assassination. During his exchange with reporters on Thursday, Trump again failed to outline key steps the administration was taking to get to the bottom of Khashoggi’s disappearance along with what potential measures he would take to punish the Saudis.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate