“A lot of people had mixed feelings about that gentleman you’re referring to,” Trump remarked to reporters in the Oval Office, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by his side. “Whatever happened, he was unaware, and that’s where we’ll leave it.”

Trump went on to commend the crown prince, claiming he has done an “incredible” job regarding human rights, though he refrained from providing further details.

In 2018, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, a crime which U.S. intelligence later attributed to an order from Mohammed bin Salman.

Human rights organizations have heavily criticized bin Salman, not only for Khashoggi’s assassination but also for his stringent measures against dissent within Saudi Arabia.

Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, with US intelligence later concluding that Mohammed bin Salman had ordered his murder. Source: AAP / AP / Alamy

Bin Salman has been strongly criticised by human rights groups not only for the Khashoggi killing but for his crackdown on dissent at home.

Trump pulled out all the stops for the Saudi prince, giving him treatment normally reserved for a state visit to the White House, even though he is not a head of state.

Trump greeted bin Salman with a smile and a handshake on the red carpet, while military personnel lined the perimeter. Source: AAP / Nathan Howard

The warm welcome for bin Salman in Washington is the latest sign that relations have recovered from the deep strain caused by Khashoggi’s murder

Talks between the two leaders looked set to advance security ties, civil nuclear cooperation, and multibillion-dollar business deals with the kingdom.

The meeting underscores a key relationship — between the world’s biggest economy and the top oil exporter — that Trump has made a high priority in his second term as the international uproar around the killing of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, has gradually faded.