President Joe Biden’s fist bump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received backlash Friday from media figures and lawmakers, deeming it “shameful.”
The president arrived on his scheduled trip to Saudi Arabia to meet with Salman, where the two leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of issues, including “regional economic and security cooperation,” threats from Iran, human rights and food security and global energy.
The administration declassified information in 2021 blaming the crown prince for approving the capture and murder of journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist killed by Saudi officials in 2018. The president shook hands with nearly every person who greeted him at the Al Salam Royal Palace except the crown prince, instead giving him a fist bump.
Washington Post publisher and CEO Fred Ryan called the exchange “shameful,” accusing it as representing a “level of intimacy” with the crown prince.
“The fist bump between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman was worse than a handshake—it was shameful,” Ryan said in a statement. “It projectrd 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
Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff also criticized the bump’s symbolism of the relationship between the U.S. and the “grip oil-rich autocrats” in Middle Eastern countries. (RELATED: Biden Touts Saudi Arabia Opening Airspace For Israel As Step Toward Normalizing Relations)
“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,” Schiff said. “One fist bump is worth a thousand words.”
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
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. https://t.co/Q2FuYSVMAX
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) July 15, 2022
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. https://t.co/0cmNj6UynU
— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) July 15, 2022
The Saudi government is quick to post photos of the fist bump between Biden and MBS https://t.co/yc3fkGK2xI
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) July 15, 2022
Anyone going to fist bump the American oil worker?
— Nathan Brand (@NathanBrandWA) July 15, 2022
Love to fist-bump the man who ordered the murder and dismemberment of an American journalist. https://t.co/BcdC81XHb0
— Alheli Picazo (@a_picazo) July 15, 2022
“Journalists cover war, expose corruption, document environmental damage, lift up the marginalized, champion our communities, and hold the powerful to account. And for this, too often, they are killed.” — Joe Biden, May 22, 2022 https://t.co/6r6UOsFkSV pic.twitter.com/2Yqs2Neatu
— Jon Schwarz (@schwarz) July 15, 2022
After much private negotiation, and public discussion, over how President Biden and the Saudi Crown Prince would greet each other, we have our answer: a fist bump
— Mary Bruce (@marykbruce) July 15, 2022
The Faustian Fist Bump.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) July 15, 2022
This is the way Saudi Arabia’s pariah status ends.
Not with a bang, but with a fist bump.
— Alex Ward (@alexbward) July 15, 2022
On Biden fist-bumping MBS, Jeremy Bash: “The fist bump is the minimum kind of warmth between an American president and a Saudi leader. In the past you’ve seen the leaders of our 2 countries hold hands…The relationship has fundamentally changed.” #AMRstaff
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) July 15, 2022
The president laughed at a reporter’s question requesting him to respond to criticism of the fist bump.
“You’ve come under a lot of fire for your fist bump with the crown prince,” a reporter said, prompting the president to laugh. “I just want to give you a chance to respond to that.”
The reporter then asked if he can be sure another journalist would not be killed by Saudi officials.
“God love you, what a silly question,” Biden said. “How could I possibly be sure of any of that?”