Donald Trump dines with Saudi Crown Prince Salman, Ronaldo, Musk at White House: Key takeaways from meet

In a meeting at the Oval Office, seven years after US intelligence agencies implicated Saudi Prince Salman in the killing of journalist Khashoggi, Trump and the prince took several questions from the reporters, one of whom was insulted by the US president. The talks between Trump and Salman ranged from commerce to the sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Riyadh.

Here are some key takeaways:

Developments on military cooperation

Trump at the dinner on Tuesday night announced that the United States was going to designate Saudi Arabia as a non-NATO ally, which is largely a symbolic move but it will provide Riyadh with some defence, trade, and security cooperation benefits. Trump also formally announced the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia which has raised concerns in Israel as Tel Aviv fears to lose its qualitative military edge in the Middle East.

The US and Saudi also signed a deal that will make Riyadh purchase nearly 300 tanks from Washington. Trump said that America and Saudi Arabia would complete a broader agreement on military and security issues. Trump also announced that his administration would proceed to sign a civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, another move which Israel has opposed.

Questions raised on Journalist Khashoggi’s killing

The meeting on Tuesday was the first visit of Saudi Crown Prince Salman to the White House, since Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident and Washington Post columnist, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey in 2018. US intelligence had implicated the Saudi prince and said that he had likely approved the killing of the journalist. After a journalist asked about Khashoggi’s killing, Prince Salman, who has denied his involvement in Khashoggi’s killing, replied that his government had taken action.

.@POTUS: "Tonight, I'm pleased to announce that we are taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally." pic.twitter.com/9n4HzMmuMG

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 19, 2025

“It’s been painful for us in Saudi Arabia. We did all the right steps of investigation, etc., in Saudi Arabia, and we’ve improved our system to be sure that nothing happens like that again. And it’s painful, and it was a huge mistake,” the crown prince said.

Trump, on the other hand, lashed out at the ABC News reporter for the line of questioning. The US president said Khashoggi was “extremely controversial” adding, “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen, but he (the crown prince) knew nothing about it and we can leave it at that.”

Ronaldo and Musk among the attendees at dinner

Football star Cristiano Ronaldo and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk were among the attendees for the black-tie dinner at the White House, hosted by President Trump. It was only the second joint public appearance of Trump and Musk after being involved in a bitter public feud earlier this year.

Earlier, the duo appeared in public during the funeral of Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist and entrepreneur who was shot dead in Utah this year.

Ronaldo attended the dinner at White House alongside Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Salman, FIFA president Gianni Infantino and other billionaires and business leaders. Trump praised the football legend and said that he introduced him to his son, Barron, who is a former soccer player.

(With inputs from agencies)