President Joe Biden lashed out at reporters for asking a question he argued does not “matter.”
Upon returning to the White House after his Middle East trip, the president was confronted about the controversial fist bump with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).
A reporter asked, “Do you regret the fist bump?”
“Why don’t you guys talk about something that matters?” Biden shot back.
He added, “I’m happy to answer a question that matters.”
Watch the video below:
REPORTER: “Do you regret the fist bump, Mr. President?”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2022
JOE BIDEN: “Why don't you guys talk about something that matters? I'm happy to answer a question that matters.” pic.twitter.com/yUnl1N3VA7
Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia is seen as part of an effort to make amends for his tough talk about the country during the presidential campaign when he vowed to make the nation a “pariah.”
His icy stance toward the nations stems in part from the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Central Intelligence Agency concluded that MBS directed the killing.
Biden received criticism last week for his decision to fist bump MBS. But he laughed it off on Friday when he faced a similar question.
— Khalid Aljabri, MD د.خالد الجبري (@JabriMD) July 15, 2022
This was not the first time Biden has criticized questions. In January, he called a question from Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich “stupid.” And days later, he called the network’s Peter Doocy a “stupid son of a b****.”
A president avoiding questions he does not like is nothing new.
But the way he has waved off criticism of his greeting with MBS seems a little different. After wanting to isolate and punish Saudi Arabia for the Khashoggi killing and its other human rights abuses, some have argued that the president helped rehabilitate the kingdom’s standing on the world stage.
It’s not new that a president’s aspirational goals crash into the harsh reality that sometimes, for strategic purposes, the U.S. essentially needs to work with countries that don’t share the same values.
However, it is worthy of discussion when the president apparently reverses their position on making a country a “pariah” and travels across the ocean to meet with its leaders in person, and appears to be friendly with them.
And Biden, whether he likes it or not, can’t just say that it doesn’t matter.
