It is tough to be shocked by any of US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric these days. But telling a female reporter “quiet, piggy” and shrugging off the state-sanctioned murder of a journalist ought to give pause for thought.

As Trump rolled out the red carpet for Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the kingdom’s de facto leader – he was plainly not keen to revisit the 2018 assassination of Saudi writer and dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the formal dinner.Credit: AP

That’s despite the fact that Khashoggi was based in the United States when he was killed by the Saudis in Turkey, and the fact the CIA concluded Mohammed personally ordered the operation.

“Things happen,” Trump said when asked about the plot by another pesky female reporter. “You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”

Tell that to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was subjected to systemic humiliation in the Oval Office in February – not only at the hands of Trump and Vice President JD Vance, but by members of the pro-Trump media who have largely unfettered........

© The Sydney Morning Herald