Mr. Brunson’s case had become a cause célèbre among religious conservatives, and Mr. Trump eagerly embraced it. He credited the pressure he had put on Turkey for Mr. Brunson’s release, but said he had agreed to no deal. “We feel much better about Turkey today than we did yesterday.”That may be exactly what Turkey wanted, given the clash over Mr. Khashoggi, but Mr. Trump made clear once again that he had no immediate or specific plans to take action against Saudi Arabia. Instead, he extolled the virtues of an arms sales deal he cut with Saudi Arabia during a visit last year. He said that he planned to call King Salman of Saudi Arabia later on Saturday or Sunday to ask him about Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance.

Source: New York Times October 13, 2018 21:17 UTC