Fox & Friends briefly acted almost like real journalists this morning as they pressed Donald Trump for answers about disappeared Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump gave vague and weak responses and he tried to change the subject.

During his 47-minute chat on Fox & Friends this morning– as Florida reeled from the devastation of Hurricane Michael – Trump made it clear he was about as concerned for what happened to Khashoggi as he was about the hurricane. Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and never came out. The Washington Post reported later today that the Turkish government has told U.S. officials that it has audio and video recordings that prove Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate.

Nevertheless, it was also clear that someone at Fox wanted answers about Khashoggi. It’s very unlikely that cohosts Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy would speak the way they did to Trump without a directive from higher up:

KILMEADE: Mr. President, I know one thing has you concerned. Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi working for The Washington Post has disappeared from the Turkish Embassy. They have video going in and not going out and there’s rumors that he’s dead.

I heard that The Washington Post reported that you’re extremely frustrated with the lack of answers. We know that Jared Kushner, your son-in-law, is very tight with the crown prince. And the crown prince calls the shots in Saudi Arabia. You’re tight with him too. What’s it gonna take to get some answers?

TRUMP: Well, we’re looking at it very, very seriously. I don’t like it at all.

Now, you don’t have American citizens. But that, in this case, doesn’t matter.

I don’t like it.

I don’t like it with respect to reporters.

It is a terrible, terrible precedent. We can’t let it happen.

And we’re being very tough and we have investigators over there and we’re working with Turkey. And, frankly, we’re working with Saudi Arabia. We want to find out what happened. He went in and it doesn’t look like he came out. It certainly doesn’t look like he is around. But he went in and—

KILMEADE: What is at stake with U.S.-Saudi relations, sir?

TRUMP: I would say they’re excellent. I’ve told them they’ve gotta pay for their military.

You know, Saudi Arabia is a very rich country. And for years and years - there would be no Saudi Arabia if there wasn’t a United States, because we protected them. And we don’t get paid for this protection.

We should be paid. We spend billions and billions of dollars a year protecting Saudi Arabia. And I’ve told the king, King Salman, I said, “King, sorry, you got to pay.” And I’ve said that loud and clear. And they’re going to pay.

KILMEADE: You can’t be killing, you can’t be killing Washington Post journalists. So is everything in jeopardy now, sir? Is that in jeopardy now, good relations with Saudi Arabia?

TRUMP: I have to find out what happened. I mean, I do have to find out. And we’re probably getting closer than you might think but I have to find out what happened.

DOOCY: The Washington Post is reporting this morning that the crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, ordered the operation to lure him back to Saudi Arabia from Virginia and then detain him, according to the U.S. intel intercepts of Saudi officials discussing the plan. … That sounds like it goes right to the top, Mr. President.

TRUMP: Well, it would be a very sad thing and we will probably know in the very short future. We have some incredible people and Incredible talent working on it. We don’t like it. I don’t like it. No good.

Before you get too excited over Kilmeade’s and Doocy’s questions, keep in mind that they didn’t ask Trump anything about his business dealings with Saudi Arabia. As The Washington Post laid out yesterday, Trump’s foreign policy toward Saudi Arabia is compromised by deep financial conflicts of interest.

Instead of following up with any of that, the third cohost, Ainsley Earhardt, changed the subject: “Mr. President, let me ask you about the midterms,” she said.

Watch Trump's evasiveness below, from the October 11, 2018 Fox & Friends.