(Slay News) – Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was not happy President Joe Biden fist-bumping Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Speaking with CNN’s Ana Cabrera, Malinowski said he was “not entirely comfortable” with images of Biden caving to MBS that went viral around the world. He said:
“We are the superpower, not the supplicant in this relationship. And I want to make sure that whatever they are discussing right now, we come out of this with the concessions that Saudi Arabia needs to make to right their relationship with us.
“In every important way, they’ve aligned themselves with Russia by artificially keeping the price of oil high, hurting us, hurting American consumers, and profiting themselves off this terrible war.
There are some things we need from Saudi Arabia. They’ve got to do their part to stabilize the energy markets & I'm looking for some results out of this meeting on human rights. It doesn't matter if it's discussed in the meeting. What matters are the results. -TM pic.twitter.com/mfpTC0LHdB
— Rep. Tom Malinowski (@RepMalinowski) July 16, 2022
“And you know, I think it’s time for the United States to show a little more strength in our relationship with Saudi Arabia.”
“I’m looking for some results out of this meeting on human rights, it doesn’t matter if it’s discussed in the meeting. What matters again are the results,” he said.
Adam Schiff was not happy and said: “If we ever needed a visual reminder of the continuing grip oil-rich autocrats have on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, we got it today. One fist bump is worth a thousand words.”
The Washington Post publisher and CEO Fred Ryan said:
“The fist bump between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman was worse than a handshake – it was shameful.
“It projected a level of intimacy and comfort that delivers to MBS the unwarranted redemption he has been desperately seeking.”
— Kristine Coratti Kelly (@kriscoratti) July 15, 2022
If we ever needed a visual reminder of the continuing grip oil-rich autocrats have on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, we got it today.
One fist bump is worth a thousand words.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) July 15, 2022
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