Biden fist-bumps Saudi crown prince after Khashoggi murder outcry
'Outnumbered' panelists criticize the president's actions after he previously demanded the Saudi Arabian government be held accountable for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
President Biden’s fist-bump greeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday sent Twitter into a tizzy with everyone from The Washington Post's CEO to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., criticizing the "shameful" viral gesture.
The Biden administration declassified a report last year blaming the crown prince for approving the operation to capture or kill journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a contributor to The Washington Post who was killed in 2018 by Saudi security officials. As a result, many Biden supporters were concerned that a handshake with the Saudi leader would be terrible optics for the administration.
Earlier on his trip to the Middle East, the White House had said that due to COVID-19 precautions, Biden would stay away from handshaking. Many assumed the guidance was an excuse to avoid a handshake between Biden and the crown prince, but the president shook hands with almost every person he greeted on the tarmac upon arrival.
President Biden’s fist-bump greeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday sent Twitter into a tizzy. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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When Biden arrived at the Al Salam Royal Palace, he greeted the crown prince with a now-infamous first-bump that didn’t go over very well on social media. Washington Post publisher and CEO Fred Ryan slammed the fist bump as "shameful" in a statement.
"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," Ryan wrote.
"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," Schiff tweeted.
People hold posters of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi near the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2020, marking the two-year anniversary of his death. ((AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File) )
OutKick founder Clay Travis called the move a "desperate attempt to avoid shaking MBS’s hand."
"Yes, it’s a fist bump rather than a handshake. BUT Biden still fist-bumped the man who ordered the murder — and bone-saw dismemberment — of a U.S. journalist, after refusing to say if he would directly confront MBS on Jamal Khashoggi’s murder," Washington Post reporter Ashley Parker wrote.
Washington Post reporter Tyler Pager pointed out that "Saudi government is quick to post photos of the fist bump between Biden and MBS."
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"A fist bump for the Saudis and the middle finger to Texas, Colorado, Alaska, North Dakota, and New Mexico, who stand ready to produce the oil Biden is begging Saudi Arabia for. America LAST," Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., tweeted.
MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan tweeted, "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."
The Biden administration declassified a report last year blaming Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for approving the operation to capture or kill journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi. (Associated Press)
The White House has defended the Biden administration’s "strategic" partnership with Saudi Arabia, saying the president wants to "get peace" with the country.
However, Biden, during a Democratic presidential primary debate in 2019, promised to make the kingdom a global "pariah" due to its mistreatment of human beings, violations of international law and open hostility to the U.S. — including the killing of Khashoggi.
Many others took to Twitter with thoughts on the fist bump:
Fox News’ Timothy Nerozzi and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.