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When you lost Adam Schiff! Biden laughs off stunning fist bump as critics pile on from all sides

July 16, 2022 | | Print Article

President Joe Biden’s fist-bump Friday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) provoked massive outrage, including from his staunchest allies and from murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancé.

Yet in response to the criticism, the president simply laughed with indifference.

“Mr. President, you’re coming under a lot of fire for your fist bump with the crown prince. I want to give you a chance to respond. How can you be sure that another murder like Jamal Khashoggi murder won’t happen again,” a reporter asked him during a presser late Friday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Laughing as the reporter spoke, the president then replied, “God love you. What a silly question. How can I possibly be sure of any of that?”

The remarks came after hours and hours and hours of critics, including some of the president’s closest allies, bashing him for the fist bump.

“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,” Fred Ryan, the publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, said in a statement.

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Even the Democrat Party’s usually loyal sycophants at MSNBC lashed out at the president for hobnobbing with the autocratic Saudi ruler.

“For the past six months, the US and Biden have (rightly) condemned Putin and Russia over human rights, autocracy, and an illegal war. Those condemnations, though, ring pretty hollow today. The world is watching the double standards of American foreign policy on full display,” network host Mehdi Hasan tweeted.

Notorious congressional Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff also expressed outrage, though he directed it more so at MBS rather than the president himself.

“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,” he tweeted.

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The criticism hasn’t just originated with the left. The right has also bashed Biden, albeit for slightly different reasons.

For instance, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds noted that the president could have just increased domestic oil production instead of traveling to Saudi Arabia to beg for oil. Conservative radio show host Clay Travis, meanwhile, called the fist-bump a “desperate attempt to avoid shaking MBS’s hand.”

See more reactions below:

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One of the most emotional responses came from Khashoggi’s fiancé, Hatice Cengiz. In a tweet of her own, she posted a fake tweet screenshot of what she believes Khashoggi would have tweeted himself if he could.

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“Hey @POTUS, Is this the accountability you promised for my murder? The blood of MBS’s next victim is on your hands,” the fake tweet read.

The tweet included a picture of the president fist-bumping MBS.

Look:

Cengiz also issued a statement to the Associated Press calling the president’s overtures to MBS “heartbreaking.”

“It’s a very huge backing down actually. It’s heartbreaking and disappointing. And Biden will lose his moral authority by putting oil and expediency over principles and values,” she said.

Questioned about her anger during a press conference later Friday evening, the president essentially shrugged with indifference again.

“I’m sorry she feels that way,” he said.

To his credit, he did admit to having spoken to MBS about Khashoggi’s murder. However, it doesn’t seem like he did much besides ask some questions.

“[MBS] basically said that he — he was not personally responsible for it. I indicated that he probably was. He said he was not personally responsible for it and he took action against those who were responsible,” he said.

Listen:

This too triggered outrage:

Vivek Saxena
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