President Donald Trump rolled out an elaborate welcome at the White House for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who is seeking stealth fighter jets, security assurances and economic promises from the US.

The arrival ceremony exceeded the typical pomp for a visiting foreign leader: A Marine band played as officers on horseback carried the Saudi and American flags, and advanced fighter jets flew over the White House in a V formation. Trump greeted Prince Mohammed with a handshake and gave him a pat on the back.

Prince Mohammed arrived at the White House with some of his objectives already accomplished: Trump said on Monday that he intended to sell the kingdom F-35 fighters despite concerns raised by the Pentagon about the risks involved with selling the technology to an ally that has a security partnership with China.

The visit represents a striking diplomatic turnabout for the crown prince, who had not been on US soil since 2018, the same year that Saudi agents killed and dismembered a Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, in Istanbul. During the Biden administration, US intelligence officials released a report determining that the crown prince had ordered Khashoggi’s killing.

In front of Prince Mohammed on Tuesday, Trump lashed out at a reporter’s question, calling her a “terrible person” and saying he believed ABC News’s broadcasting licence should be revoked. The crown prince fielded tough questions with calmer replies.

Trump spent some time trying to get Prince Mohammed to say that he has been the best President for the Saudi Arabia-US relationship. The crown prince demurred, praising President Franklin Delano Roosevelt — “a Democrat” — and President Ronald Reagan. Trump then diverted and started talking about how he wouldn’t try to fist-bump the crown prince, like his predecessor, President Joe Biden, did in 2022.