President Biden gave Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman a fist bump on Friday — after intense speculation over how the greeting would play out after Biden vowed to treat the country as a 'pariah' on the campaign trail.
The unusual secrecy, and avoidance of a handshake, did not stop the criticism. In fact, it heightened it.
Even staunch Democratic allies like California Rep. Adam Schiff blasted Biden's decision to meet with bin Salman. The meeting came together as global oil supplies tightened and prices soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Biden announced a trip to Saudi Arabia, and the White House swapped out his early"pariah" pledge for the language of diplomatic realism.
Still, even before Friday's criticism, it was clear the White House was defensive about the optics of Biden greeting and sitting down with the heads of a government he had dismissed during the campaign as"having very little redeeming value."
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