Trump tweets his approval of Saudi Arabia's political purge

Donald Trump. — (Image credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Trump tweeted his support on Monday night for Saudi Arabia's king and crown prince, saying he has "great confidence" in their leadership amid a corruption crackdown that many experts see as a political purge.

"I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing," Trump tweeted, adding, "Some of those they are harshly treating have been 'milking' their country for years!"

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is in charge of a new anti-corruption committee, which ordered the arrests over the weekend of 11 princes, including Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, the head of the national guard, and the billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Many observers view this as the crown prince's way of consolidating power; since his father became king in 2015, Mohammed bin Salman has been positioned to be his successor, and in addition to becoming crown prince in June, he serves as Saudi Arabia's defense minister and first deputy prime minister. He also has a friendly relationship with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who made an unannounced visit to the kingdom last month.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.