Biden Meets With Saudi Crown Prince

President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia Friday and met with controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The meeting came amid questions about how Biden will handle relations with the country, which has a history of human rights violations — most notably journalist Jamal Khashoggi's 2018 murder by agents of the Saudi government. In a Washington Post (Lean Left bias) op-ed about the trip, Biden said his "views on human rights are clear and long-standing, and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda." He also argued that the Middle East's "waterways are essential to global trade," and called the region's energy resources "vital for mitigating the impact on global supplies of Russia’s war in Ukraine."

Biden and Salman greeted each other with a fist bump prior to the meeting. After Khashoggi's murder, Biden called for consequences for the Saudi government and said in 2019 that the Saudi government has "very little social redeeming value." Before Biden's trip, White House officials said he would aim to minimize contact, including hand shakes, to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Biden did reportedly shake hands with others on the trip, including bin Salman's father.

The meeting was the top story from sources across the political spectrum Friday afternoon. Many outlets on both the left and the right focused on the fist bump and Biden's past comments about Saudi Arabia and Khashoggi's murder. One article from NBC News focused on Saudi dissidents who said they felt betrayed by Biden's visit.