The murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was the top talking point before, during, and after President Biden’s trip to the Middle East, culminating with his failed mission to get Saudi Arabia to pump more of the oil he turned off in the United States.
The US President has faced a backlash over the informal way he greeted the kingdom’s de facto ruler on his arrival in Jeddah on Friday. Critics have said the fist bump was inappropriate given US suspicions that the Crown Prince was responsible for the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi — and Biden’s subsequent 2020 campaign trail pledge to turn Saudi Arabia into a “pariah”.
But Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan played down the controversy in an interview with CNN’s Nic Robertson hours after the President left Jeddah on Saturday.
“I see the image as a win for President Biden,” bin Farhan said.
— CNN, 7/17/22
While Khashoggi’s murder was horrific, there weren’t too many news organizations who demanded the last three American presidents avoid the appearance of undue courtesy after the 2,977 fatalities and over 25,000 injuries that resulted at the hands of Saudi citizens on September 11, 2001. Al Qaeda was the prime culprit, according to the 9/11 Commission Report, but subsequent lawsuits by the families of 9/11 victims implicated Saudi officials, not to mention FBI files that have still not been released.
Where was the outrage and demands from the media that Presidents George Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump not visit Saudi Arabia after the horrors of 9/11?
4/25/02: President Bush Meets with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
1/15/08: President Bush in Saudi Arabia
4/20/16: Barack Obama holds talks with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman
9/23/16: Obama Vetoes Bill to Let 9/11 Families Sue Saudi Arabia
5/16/17: President Trump Is Visiting Saudi Arabia to Cement a Friendship
There was little media consternation, if any, because the World Trade Center attack was just a news story for them. There were no interviews of the hundreds of widows from that day. But because a journalist was murdered, it was a media all-hands-on-deck.
Washington Post: Biden says he confronted Saudis directly on Khashoggi
Variety: ‘The View’ Host Sunny Hostin Slams Biden for Fist-Bumping Saudi Crown Prince and ‘Normalizing a Murderer’
ABC News: Biden says he raised Khashoggi murder with Saudi crown prince
Newsweek: Biden Scoffs at Reporter’s ‘Silly Question’ About Khashoggi Killing
CNBC: Biden said he raised murder of Jamal Khashoggi with Saudi leaders after MBS fist bump
New York Post: Khashoggi fiancée says Biden owns ‘blood’ of next MBS victim after fist bump
NPR: She was married to Khashoggi. She wants accountability as Biden lands in Saudi Arabia
The Hill: Biden betrays Khashoggi, campaign promises in quest for Saudi oil
CNN: Wolf Blitzer presses Saudi diplomat who was in meeting with Biden on Khashoggi’s murder
U.S. News & World Report: Biden Confronts Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Murder, Expects Action on Energy
Business Insider: Bernie Sanders rebukes Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, says the US shouldn’t ‘be maintaining a warm relationship with a dictatorship’
The privileged left is predictable, as evidenced by our ongoing documentation of how indifferent they are when bad things happen to the people as opposed to how batshit indignant they get when bad things happen to one of them. The media has the immediate megaphone and they will stop the presses when the unfortunate happens to one of them.
More to come. You can be sure of it.
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