American-Saudi Relations Have Become Something of a Joke Under Biden

“Live from Riyadh, it’s Saudi Night Live.” While the desert kingdom is known for vast oil reserves, for a cruel approach to dissent, and for recent attempts at pulling itself out of the 16th century, you’ve never heard the previous sentence because it’s not exactly known for having a sophisticated, keen sense of humor. In April, a government-controlled television channel, MBC 1, aired a cold-open sketch on its Studio 22 satire show that mocked President Biden. The skit was poorly acted, the joke was stale, and the premise? Suffice it to say that the supposed power behind Mr. Biden, the one with real smarts, was Vice President Harris.In short, the sketch was even less funny than the “SNL” equivalents it attempted to emulate — which some would say is quite a low bar.How funny — or not — are the jokes the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is reportedly telling about Mr. Biden? One can only imagine. According to the Wall Street Journal, the “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.”The Saudis have denied that report, based on unnamed palace sources, and its assertion that the Riyadh ruler, known as MbS, “hasn’t been impressed” with Mr. Biden since he was vice president. They also pushed back against the idea that the prince would rather be dealing with President Trump. “These allegations made by anonymous sources are entirely false,” Riyadh’s foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, told Al Jazeera. “The kingdom’s leaders have always held the utmost respect for US presidents, based on the kingdom’s belief in the importance of having a relationship based on mutual respect.”In-palace palaver is hard to verify, but if the TV skit is any indication, the Saudi monarchy does indeed hold the current American president in low regard — and that bodes ill for relations between long-time allies. Then again, the monarchy’s scorn could be seen as well-earned: From early on in his presidency, Mr. Biden has seemed intent on downgrading relations with “pariah” Riyadh. He has consistently targeted MbS for condemnation. Mr. Biden changed his tune earlier this year, after energy prices spiked in America. He went to Saudi Arabia to attempt to make nice and bump fists with the man he had so often disparaged publicly. The White House maintains that the president’s spring visit had nothing to do with oil, but its ire over the OPEC decision last month to cut production indicates otherwise. Since 1933 relations between Washington and Riyadh were based on a quid pro quo: Saudis provide America with the oil it needs and America helps secure the monarchy against its enemies. Mr. Biden, however, vowed to cut arms sales to the Saudis. No wonder Riyadh would think twice before heeding a reported request by Mr. Biden’s emissaries to delay OPEC’s production-cut announcements until after the November elections. Washington has declined to veer away from its recent energy policies based solely on climate concerns as a way to respond to the energy crunch. Fossil fuel production in America has therefore declined significantly.At the same time, Mr. Biden is going hat in hand to some of the world’s worst oil-producing tyrants. As he begs them to pump more oil, Mr. Biden also attempts to ease the pain at the pump by dipping into the emergency oil reserve, which has plummeted to a 40-year low level. Almost mocking this — in a much more ominous tone than the Saudi television guffaws — Riyadh’s oil minister yesterday pointed out the dangers of dipping into reserves intended for non-political emergencies. “It is my profound duty to make clear to the world that losing emergency stocks may be painful in the months to come,” the minister, Abdulaziz bin Salman, said yesterday. Prince Abdulaziz spoke at an annual Riyadh gathering, the Future Investment Initiative, which drew in American business and political leaders, including JPMorgan Chase’s chief, Jamie Dimon, and a former presidential adviser, Jared Kushner, who maintains close relations with the crown prince. American-Saudi relations were front and center.“If you look at the relationship with the people side, the corporate side, the education system, you look at our institutions working together, we are very close and we will get over this recent spat that I think was unwarranted,” the Saudi investment minister, Khalid al-Falih, said. Yet, unlike years past, no current Washington official participated in the Saudi gathering. Answering allegations that Riyadh is siding with America’s enemies — Russia and Communist China, which is the kingdom’s largest oil importer — the energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz, said, “We keep hearing you ‘are with us or against us’; is there any room for ‘we are with the people of Saudi Arabia’?”The Saudis have reasons to be sore with Mr. Biden. Yet, their latest statements, while so far more in words than deeds, show that for Riyadh, close ties with America remain vital.Mr. Biden, who insists on forever “reevaluating” those relations, is yet to fully realize the benefits America derives from that decades-long partnership. As of now, as Prince Abdulaziz said yesterday, Saudi Arabia chooses to be the “maturer” side in that relationship.Now, that has to be one of history’s most sophisticated jokes.

American-Saudi Relations Have Become Something of a Joke Under Biden

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