Trump’s Dangerous Allies: A Saudi Prince with Blood on His Hands (remember journalist Jamal Khashoggi?) and a $10M Terrorist in a Suit
By praising a brutal prince and a former terrorist, Trump isn’t just ignoring atrocities, he’s betraying America’s core values and global standing.
Executive Summary
Executive Summary: President Donald Trump’s praise for Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is a chilling endorsement of brutality and corruption. MBS is a man with blood on his hands, implicated in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and responsible for a catastrophic war in Yemen. His disturbing record on human rights will make your stomach turn.
Al-Sharaa, once a jihadist with a $10 million bounty on his head, now sits in power in Damascus, and Trump calls him a “great guy.” He was a top commander of an Al-Qaeda franchise, a group the United States itself designated as a terrorist organization. He’s an opportunist who swapped his jihadist fatigues for a suit with a record stained with extremism, violence, and deception.
Trump’s Praise for Tyrants Is a Dangerous Disgrace
For any American who believes in our country’s values, seeing President Donald Trump grin and gush over Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Syria’s new interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa feels like a punch in the gut. In public appearances and speeches in 2025, Trump has lavished praise on these two men – calling MBS “an incredible man” and even a “great guy” – while glossing over their horrific records.
He met with Al-Sharaa, smiled for cameras, and spoke warmly about giving Syria “a chance at greatness” under its new leadership. This spectacle isn’t just awkward diplomacy; it’s a moral disgrace and a dangerous endorsement of brutal authoritarianism.
Trump’s embrace of MBS and Al-Sharaa sends a shiver down the spine of anyone who cares about human rights, democracy, or basic decency. It helps legitimize and normalize the very abuses these strongmen have committed, sending a message to the world that America’s leader will hug a tyrant if the tyrant flatters him back. In doing so, Trump betrays core American values, divides our people, weakens our democracy, and tarnishes our global standing.
Mohammed bin Salman: A Prince with Blood on His Hands
Let’s be clear about who Mohammed bin Salman is. MBS is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, its de facto ruler, and he has cultivated a polished image as a young reformer. But beneath the PR shine is a dark reality.
This is the man who, according to the CIA and countless experts, ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist. Khashoggi walked into a Saudi consulate in 2018 and never walked out – he was strangled and dismembered with a bone saw by a team of Saudi agents. The whole world recoiled in horror at this atrocity. Yet MBS breezily denied involvement and faced virtually no real punishment; instead, he has worked to rehabilitate his image.
Khashoggi’s murder is just one entry on MBS’s appalling rap sheet. As a young defense minister, MBS launched a war in Yemen that became a humanitarian catastrophe. Under his leadership, Saudi forces have bombed schools, hospitals, and marketplaces, helping fuel one of the worst famines of modern times.
Millions of Yemeni civilians have been pushed to the brink of starvation; tens of thousands of children have died of hunger or preventable disease as a direct result of that war. While Yemeni families sift through rubble and bury their babies, MBS continues to wage this war with American-made weapons, stoking chaos under the banner of fighting Iran’s influence. These are war crimes, plain and simple – and the world knows it.
At home, MBS rules with an iron fist masked in designer suits. He talks about modernization and permits superficial changes (like letting women drive), but at the same time jails and tortures the very women who campaigned for those rights. Saudi women activists who dared to speak up – brave people like Loujain al-Hathloul – were imprisoned, electrically shocked, waterboarded, and threatened with rape in Saudi prisons.
Dissent is ruthlessly crushed: bloggers, journalists, and even mild critics can be thrown in jail for years or sentenced to flogging or death. MBS has effectively kidnapped and extorted his own royal relatives in a so-called “anti-corruption” purge, locking dozens of princes and businessmen in a luxury hotel-turned-prison until they surrendered billions of dollars and their political influence to him.
He has overseen mass executions – including the beheading of 47 people in one day, among them a prominent peaceful Shia cleric, sending shockwaves through minority communities. Saudi Arabia under MBS still conducts public beheadings and draconian punishments. It is a regime where a tweet can land you in prison, and where members of minority groups or critics are surveilled, hunted, even allegedly assassinated abroad if they refuse to be silenced.
When it comes to LGBTQ rights, the reality is grim and brutal. Under his rule, homosexuality remains a crime punishable by imprisonment, flogging, or even death. LGBTQ Saudis live in fear, knowing that being openly gay can lead to arrest, torture, or forced disappearance. Reports have surfaced of security forces using apps and social media to entrap suspected gay men, luring them into situations where they can be detained and abused. While MBS boasts of opening the country to concerts and cinemas, he keeps a tight grip on morality laws that make life a living hell for LGBTQ citizens, sending a clear and chilling message: there is no place for them in his “modern” kingdom.
Financial corruption and shady dealings are part of MBS’s brand of governance. While he preaches austerity and reform for ordinary Saudis, he lives a life of obscene luxury enabled by state funds. Reports have surfaced of MBS purchasing a $500 million yacht on a whim and a $450 million da Vinci painting for his personal collection. His government spends extravagantly on vanity projects, building futuristic cities in the desert, even as it underpays migrant workers and muzzles any labor complaints.
This opulence is propped up by a regime notorious for secret police tactics and disinformation. After Khashoggi’s murder, Saudi officials repeatedly lied to the world about what happened, spinning tale after tale until the evidence of their guilt was undeniable. And to salvage his reputation, MBS has poured millions into slick PR campaigns, lobbyists, and international investments (even a controversial golf tour) to make people forget the blood on his hands.
Let’s not mince words: MBS is an authoritarian ruler who uses lies, money, and fear to maintain power. He wants the world to see him as a bold young reformer, but nothing can erase the truth of his record – a record of violence, intimidation, and abuse of power at the highest levels.
Ahmed al-Sharaa: From Extremist Warlord to Syrian ‘President’
Now consider Ahmed al-Sharaa, the man Trump has called Syria’s “interim President” while showering him with legitimacy. Most Americans have never heard this name, and for good reason: Al-Sharaa did not rise through any democratic process or noble struggle for freedom. He emerged from the ashes of Syria’s civil war as a new strongman, and his past is as dark as it gets.
To put it bluntly, Ahmed al-Sharaa spent years as an extremist warlord before grabbing the reins of power in Damascus. In fact, he is better known by a different name: Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the notorious Islamist militant who led the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. Yes, you read that right – Syria’s new leader was a top commander of an Al-Qaeda franchise, a group the United States itself designated as a terrorist organization.
And let’s not forget that this man once had a $10 million bounty on his head, a price placed by the United States government for his alleged involvement in terrorist activities against American forces and civilians. Yes, you read that right, the man Trump now calls a promising leader was once considered a top enemy combatant.
For over a decade, he fought not for democracy or pluralism, but to impose a harsh Islamist rule. His fighters carried black flags and had a reputation for brutality in Syria’s chaotic war.
Al-Sharaa’s journey to power is a tale of shifting allegiances and ruthless ambition. Two decades ago, as a young man, he traveled to Iraq to wage jihad after the fall of Saddam Hussein, aiming to kill American and allied troops in the name of extremism. He was caught and spent years in U.S. custody in Iraq, reportedly concealing his Syrian identity with a fake name. Later, back in Syria, he became a key figure in the rebel coalition against Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship.
But make no mistake: Al-Sharaa’s rebel alliance was dominated by his hard-line militia, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), born from Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch. Under his command, HTS sought to build an Islamic emirate in Syria’s northwest. They have been accused of war crimes, including the summary execution of prisoners and the persecution of minority communities.
In one infamous episode, Al-Sharaa’s forces besieged two Shia villages for three years, effectively starving thousands of civilians, including children and the elderly, until a surrender was negotiated. Such cruelty towards vulnerable populations, using hunger as a weapon, is utterly inexcusable. Human rights organizations have documented HTS fighters committing torture and mistreating detainees, much like the Assad regime they opposed.
Al-Sharaa claims to have reformed, now that he has installed himself in the presidential palace in Damascus, he speaks of moderation and unity. In an English-language interview, he tried to reassure the world that he won’t turn Syria into another Afghanistan under the Taliban. He professes belief in education for women and insists that his regime isn’t “terrorist.” But these are just words from a man with a long record of lies and violent fanaticism.
Many Syrians, especially those from minority faiths or anyone who lived under HTS’s Islamist rule, do not believe his sudden change of heart. They remember that Al-Sharaa’s rise to power was through bullets and fear, not ballots. He has not hesitated to eliminate rivals, whether more moderate rebels or extremist competitors, whenever it suited him. Now, as “interim President,” he wields power without any popular mandate, backed by militiamen and foreign sponsors.
Governance under Al-Sharaa is already raising alarms: independent journalists and activists in Syria report that those who criticize the new regime risk intimidation or worse, and that extremist elements still hold sway in his inner circle. There is every reason to worry that Syria’s new boss will entrench a different brand of authoritarian rule, one wrapped in religious rhetoric and vengeful triumphalism after years of civil war. The country’s battered, vulnerable populations, from the war-traumatized communities of Aleppo and Idlib to the minorities who fear reprisals, remain at great risk if this new regime chooses repression over reconciliation.
In short, Ahmed al-Sharaa is no champion of freedom. He is an opportunist who swapped his jihadist fatigues for a suit, trading one form of absolutism for another. His record is stained with extremism, violence, and deception. And yet, this is the man Donald Trump now boosts on the world stage.
“America Loves You” – Trump’s Dangerous Embrace
When President Trump showers flattery on MBS and Al-Sharaa, he isn’t just being polite, he is actively burnishing the reputations of two authoritarian figures with atrocious histories. Trump has literally told MBS, “I like you” and “I like you a lot,” even joking, “I like him too much,” as cameras flash. In Riyadh, Trump grinned as the Saudi crown prince led a standing ovation for him, and quipped, “Oh, what I do for the crown prince!”
We see what he does: at MBS’s request, Trump even agreed to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, effectively rewarding Al-Sharaa’s new regime before it’s proven anything. Picture that for a moment, an American president doing favors for a Saudi autocrat that directly benefit a former Al-Qaeda operative now ruling Damascus. It’s the stuff of nightmares for anyone who cares about justice or security.
This embrace is dangerous. By cozying up to MBS and Al-Sharaa, Trump is telling every dictator, warlord, and extremist leader that the United States will overlook even the vilest crimes if flattery and deals are on the table. He sends the message that murdering journalists, starving children, and terrorizing your people are not deal-breakers, as long as you can offer something he wants, like money, oil, or a photo-op.
Consider how that lands around the globe. Oppressive regimes and terrorist groups watch and learn. They see an American president not condemning these abuses, but excusing or ignoring them. Trump’s praise legitimizes these men’s abuses in the eyes of the world. It gives MBS and Al-Sharaa a powerful propaganda tool: they can point to Trump’s words as a stamp of approval from the leader of the free world.
Think about the people on the receiving end of these tyrants’ cruelty. Think of a Saudi dissident languishing in prison or a Yemeni mother holding a starving child, what do they feel when they hear the President of the United States heap compliments on the architect of their suffering? Think of a Syrian family that survived both Assad’s barrel bombs and HTS’s fanaticism, what do they think when Trump glad-hands the warlord who now sits in Assad’s chair?
Trump’s behavior is a slap in the face to the victims of these regimes. It demoralizes those who struggle for human rights, whether in Saudi Arabia, Syria, or beyond, by signaling that America’s leadership doesn’t have their back. Instead, it appears to have chosen the side of their oppressors.
Moreover, aligning with these figures undermines global security and stability. When the U.S. president normalizes extremists and killers, it risks empowering them to commit further abuses. MBS, feeling fully embraced by Washington, has even less incentive to temper his domestic crackdowns or negotiate peace in Yemen, why bother, if the American president cheers him on regardless of what he does?
Al-Sharaa, freshly legitimized, gains international clout without addressing any of the extremism in his ranks or offering any justice to those wronged in the war. Trump’s uncritical support could embolden Al-Sharaa to sideline moderates and double-down on authoritarian control, knowing he has major powers willing to engage on his terms.
In short, Trump is helping dangerous men tighten their grip on power, and that poses long-term risks, from continued human rights atrocities to potential new conflicts sparked by their unchecked ambitions.
Betraying America’s Values and Ideals
Perhaps most tragically, Trump’s fondness for tyrants betrays the core values that America has long professed to stand for. Our nation, at its best, stands for freedom, justice, and the dignity of the individual. We have enshrined freedom of speech, the rule of law, and human rights in our founding principles.
American presidents of both parties, at least rhetorically, have upheld the idea that we align with those who share these values and stand against those who trample them. While our history is far from perfect, there has been a basic expectation that the President of the United States should not play public relations agent for murderers and extremists.
By praising MBS and Al-Sharaa, Trump turns his back on those fundamental American ideals. There is nothing “American” about excusing the murder of journalists or the slaughter of civilians. There is nothing patriotic about validating the rule of a man who fought under the Al-Qaeda banner.
On the contrary, this behavior feels like a betrayal to countless Americans – including many in our military and diplomatic corps who have served, and even bled, to combat terrorism and defend human rights abroad. Imagine being a U.S. veteran who served in Iraq or Syria, who lost friends to jihadist attacks, and then seeing your former Commander-in-Chief glad-handing a former Al-Qaeda operative. It’s outrageous. Or imagine being an American journalist or aid worker who advocates for freedom in oppressive countries, only to watch your president compliment the oppressors. This is a betrayal of the people who have believed in America’s promise as a beacon of liberty.
Furthermore, Trump’s actions shred the moral authority of the United States. When America’s leader shrugs off torture, dismemberment, and extremist violence, our country’s credibility as a defender of democracy and human rights evaporates. How can we, as Americans, hold our heads high and talk about freedom and justice when our president is literally applauding the opposite?
This isn’t about left or right politics, it’s about right and wrong. It’s about the soul of our nation. The presidential bully pulpit, which could champion the oppressed and speak truth to power, is instead being used to whitewash crimes and coddle criminals. That is as un-American as it gets.
In praising these men’s lies and allowing their disinformation to go unchallenged, Trump also erodes the value we place on truth. Both MBS and Al-Sharaa run regimes built on propaganda, whether it’s Riyadh’s slick PR about reform while dissidents rot in jail, or Damascus’s insistence that HTS’s jihadists have magically turned into angels of democracy. An American president should call out such falsehoods, not play along. By failing to speak honestly about their records, Trump essentially participates in their disinformation campaigns. Honesty and accountability, hallmarks of good governance, are casualties of this cozy club of authoritarians.
Dividing Americans and Weakening Our Democracy
Trump’s love-fest with foreign authoritarians doesn’t just harm people “over there.” It has a corrosive effect right here at home. When the president of the United States so openly admires despots, it divides the American people and warps our political culture.
We see it happening in real time. On one side, many Americans are horrified, they recoil at seeing their president pal around with killers and extremists. They feel deep shame and anger, believing (rightly) that this behavior is beneath our country. On the other side, some of Trump’s die-hard supporters either shrug it off or even cheer it. They’ve been told that such alliances are savvy deals or necessary for economic gain, or they simply follow Trump’s lead in who to admire. The result is an America split not just on usual policy issues, but on basic moral judgment. We can’t even agree that praising murderers is wrong, because one faction has convinced itself that it’s just how things are done now.
This moral division is dangerous. It erodes our shared sense of right and wrong, which is a foundation of any healthy society. If a significant number of Americans accept, or at least tolerate, a president celebrating authoritarian thugs, what else will they accept? Already we’ve seen a disturbing drift: cruelty is normalized, empathy dismissed as weakness, and authoritarian tendencies excused so long as they come wrapped in our flag.
Trump’s behavior sets an example (a very poor one) for leadership. It subtly primes Americans to think that maybe democracy isn’t that important, that maybe strongman tactics are just how the world works. After all, if our own president is in awe of how Saudi Arabia or post-war Syria are run, why shouldn’t we be? This is how the rot begins, with admiration for the autocrat’s “strength” at the expense of democratic ideals.
Let’s not forget that Trump himself has long exhibited authoritarian instincts. He has shown contempt for a free press, attacked judges who ruled against him, and indicated he’d jail his political opponents if he could. By aligning with men like MBS and Al-Sharaa, Trump underscores his own preference for power over principle. And that sends a clear signal: if returned to power (or in wielding power now), he may feel even more emboldened to erode democratic norms and institutions here in America, having surrounded himself with yes-men abroad who validate that approach.
In essence, praising foreign despots is also a way for Trump to telegraph his own style of leadership, one that brooks no criticism and operates above the law. This weakens our democracy from within. It acclimates Americans to the notion that maybe a little tyranny is acceptable if it comes with a promise of security or prosperity. That’s a false promise, and a fatal one for a republic.
Americans are left bitterly divided over this behavior. Instead of uniting us around our highest values, Trump’s conduct forces us to relitigate basic ethical questions that should have been settled long ago. It pits neighbor against neighbor in arguments over whether the ends justify the means, whether profit justifies turning a blind eye to murder, or whether fighting terrorism means befriending one terrorist to defeat another.
Such division distracts and weakens us all. While we argue, our real adversaries, the extremist ideologies, the corrupt networks, the hostile foreign powers, grow stronger. A house divided against itself cannot stand, and Trump’s embrace of tyrants is another wedge cracking our foundation.
America’s Standing and Security at Stake
Finally, consider the broader consequences: Trump’s praise for MBS and Al-Sharaa is deeply damaging to America’s global standing and national security. The United States has long derived a great deal of influence from its reputation, however imperfect, as a champion of democracy and human rights. Allies have trusted us (sometimes warily) to ultimately do the right thing, and dissidents around the world have looked to us as a beacon of hope.
When the American president appears to side with oppressors over the oppressed, that reputation collapses. Our allies start to doubt if we share their values at all. Countries that are democracies or aspire to be one might wonder if the U.S. will sell them out in favor of a cozy relationship with the nearest dictator who offers a better deal. And adversaries certainly take note, they see America’s moral high ground being surrendered without a fight.
Trump’s conduct hands a propaganda gift to rivals like China and Russia. Those regimes love to point out American hypocrisy. Now they can say: look, the U.S. lectures us about human rights, but its president hugs men who butcher journalists and sponsor extremists.
The Chinese government, for instance, can more easily dismiss U.S. criticism of its abuses against the Uyghurs or Hong Kong, because they see Washington literally embracing Saudi and Syrian leaders with equally egregious records. America’s voice on the world stage loses credibility, and with it our leverage. When we do need to rally international pressure against a tyrant, say, condemning a Putin or an Ayatollah, will anyone take us seriously? Or will they roll their eyes and remind us how Trump adored his “incredible” friends MBS and Al-Sharaa?
There are also direct security implications. MBS may be an ally of convenience against certain common enemies, but by giving him uncritical support, we ignore how his actions have often fueled instability. His war in Yemen, for example, didn’t just cause human misery, it created a vacuum exploited by Al-Qaeda and ISIS affiliates in the Arabian Peninsula. How does coddling MBS, who created that mess, make America safer? It doesn’t.
As for Al-Sharaa, treating a former Al-Qaeda ally as a legitimate statesman carries huge risks. It could embolden jihadist networks, who might believe that with enough firepower and savvy rebranding, they too can go from terrorists to internationally embraced leaders. That sets a nightmare precedent. It also potentially alienates our Kurdish partners and other anti-ISIS allies in the region who bled to stop jihadists, only to see the chief of one such jihadist group waltz into power and into Trump’s good graces. If those allies lose trust in us, we may find fewer friends willing to fight alongside us against real threats in the future.
Moreover, Trump’s bromance with these authoritarian figures threatens to reshape global norms in the worst way. If the U.S. president won’t stand up for democracy and human rights, who will? Autocrats everywhere gain confidence to act with impunity. We risk a dark new chapter in world affairs where might makes right and brutality is rewarded. America’s retreat from its principles doesn’t just leave a void – it actively empowers the forces of oppression and chaos.
In short, Trump’s praise for MBS and Al-Sharaa isn’t just distasteful, it’s actively undermining the moral and strategic position of the United States in the world. It makes us weaker, not stronger. It makes the world more dangerous, not safer.
Standing Up for What’s Right
The situation is urgent, and it boils down to a simple question for us as Americans: Which side are we on? Do we stand on the side of human rights, democracy, and truth, or on the side of those who kill, torture, and lie to hold power?
President Trump has chosen his side, aligning himself with men who represent the worst impulses of authoritarian rule. But we, the American people, do not have to follow him down that path.
It’s up to us to reject the normalization of tyranny. We have the power and the responsibility to speak out against these dangerous liaisons. Every American voter, every citizen with a conscience, needs to pay attention. We must demand leaders who have the courage to tell our so-called “allies” hard truths, not just kiss the rings of billionaires and warlords. We must insist that our foreign policy reflect our values, not one man’s personal infatuation with “strongmen.” And when our leaders fail that test – when they betray American values for a photo-op or a business deal – we have to call it what it is: unacceptable.
Trump may be enamored with Mohammed bin Salman’s wealth and power, and he may be willing to overlook Ahmed al-Sharaa’s terrorist past in hopes of a headline or a handshake. But we Americans cannot afford to be enamored or to overlook the truth. The truth is that praising and propping up tyrants makes our world more dangerous and our nation less honorable. The truth is that an America that abandons its principles to coddle dictators is an America on the road to losing itself.
History will judge this moment. Someday, we’ll look back and ask: Did we stand silently as our president applauded murderers and extremists? Or did we stand up and say this is not who we are? I believe in the America that stands up. I believe in the millions of everyday Americans who still feel that gut instinct for right and wrong, who know that we must never idolize tyrants, no matter what they offer.
Trump’s disgraceful praise for MBS and Al-Sharaa can still be countered by a proud American public that remembers its values. We can choose leaders who draw a clear line that we do not cross: America does not worship princes and presidents who spill innocent blood. America stands with the oppressed, not the oppressor.
In this defining moment, silence is complicity. It’s time to raise our voices. It’s time to show the world that American values are not for sale. And it’s time to remind any leader, including our own, that we the people will not accept the dangerous normalization of tyranny. We owe it to ourselves, to our children, and to all who look to America as a light in the darkness. Our message must be loud and clear: No more praising tyrants. America must stand for better than that.
Mitch Jackson, Esq. | links
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Mitch, reading this made me shiver. It's undeniably a very awkward position that Donald Trump has placed both himself and the country in by aligning himself with these thugs. Birds of a feather come to mind, as Trump is envious of how their followers adore these two. He thinks that the American people will do the same to him if he only acts like and hangs around with them. This is so dangerous, as nothing good will come of this association.
I love the way Mitch takes on the most important issues of the day, provides expert and legal analysis, giving the reader a 360-degree perspective of the relevance to us and our country. He provides the daily access point for our awareness of what is happening behind the scenes where Trump is knocking down our country's foundations across the board and seriously impacting the lives of everyone. Mitch does the heavy lifting for all of us. Mitch understands that money is the root of all evil, and Trump is getting billions and billions to say and do these things. Trump does not believe in God or the afterlife, cares not, fears not, and listens to the devil’s voice as he has given himself over to him and been rewarded with vast wealth and luxury by the Republicans. He has nothing to lose, but someday he WILL die and cannot take anything with him. He will face judgment, but for now, he is living life to the fullest that anyone has EVER lived. The bigger problem is that he is taking us and our country for a ride that will lead to disaster. Thanks Mitch for your valuable work and keeping us informed.