USA 2024 Elections Thread

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Crown Prince Mocks Biden As Mentally Challenged Amid Crashing US-Saudi Relations

Just when you thought the Saudis couldn't humiliate the Biden
administration any more, the Wall Street Journal reports that Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman is reportedly talking massive trash about
the US president behind closed doors.

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s 37-year-old
day-to-day ruler, mocks President Biden in private, making fun of the
79-year-old’s gaffes and questioning his mental acuity, according to
people inside the Saudi government. He has told advisers he hasn’t
been impressed with Mr. Biden since his days as vice president, and
much preferred former President Donald Trump, the people said. -WSJ

What ever would give MbS that impression?

Then, after refusing to speak with MbS for over a year (teleprompter
issues?), Saudi officials present at a July meeting in Jeddah
indicated that Biden clearly didn't want to be there, and was not
interested in policy discussions.

As the Journal further notes, the US-Saudi relationship has been
strained for years, but the animosity between Biden and MbS has
'deepened the tension, and it is likely to get only messier.'

"Rarely has the chain of broken expectations and perceived insults and
humiliations been greater than they are now," said veteran US Middle
East diplomat Aaron David Miller, who now works at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace. "There’s almost no trust and
absolutely no mutual respect."

In perhaps the biggest 'f-you' to the Biden administration, the Saudis
led OPEC+ in a production cut despite the US asking them to delay the
decision until after midterms - which the Saudis revealed in a
scathing letter nearly two weeks ago.

    BREAKING: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia confirms Biden attempted to
coerce them to postpone oil cuts until after the midterms, announce
they have rejected his quid pro quo pic.twitter.com/MGNRbZVrRk
    — ShapiroExposed.com (@JackPosobiec) October 13, 2022

The White House has ignored the personal nature of US-Saudi ties.
And according to Steven Cook, a Middle East expert with the CFR, "When
you’re dealing with a country that’s basically run by five people, it
has to be on a personal level."