Why are the media going nuts over Joe Biden fist bumping MBS?

[Stoner710]

They will criticize Joe Biden fist bumping Mohammed Bin Salman but not criticize Biden meeting with Ali Khamenei. They claim MBS as a murder (which he is I’ll give the media that). But if you don’t want the president of the United States fist bumping or meeting with murders you wouldn’t be able to met with Iran or Syria or any country in the Middle East. We would have to cut ties with China Xing Jing Ping is responsible for Uyghur genocide. We shouldn’t be doing businesses with Nicolas Madura he’s sitting up in his rich house while he’s people have to eat there dogs in the streets. Don’t be important if oil of Madura. Which of course would mean in order to prevent Americans rebelling over gas prices he would have to drill in the United States. Can we please get some intellectual consistency from our media? The answer of course is no. What the logic behind this for democratic?

[nightdrot]

The problem with Mr. Biden's "fist bump" is, of course, symbolic. However, it symbolized more than simple hypocrisy on the part of the President. Rather, it represented a significant policy failure and frankly, the outright public humiliation of the President and that may have some important consequences down the road.

To start, of course, the President, not so long ago, had declared Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince - who given the age and failing health of the Saudi king, the Crown Prince is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia at the moment - to be a pariah. This not just because the Crown Prince, according to US intelligence, had ordered the death of a Saudi journalist for the Washington Post and human rights activist, but also because it allowed the President to seem to be a strong ally of Israel.

Suffice to say, for the President to "fist bump" - nominally because of COVID - a man whom he had declared to be, in effect, a international criminal was to suggest a certain bit of hypocrisy. To be sure, hypocrisy it is.

However, international relations is about power, not principle. Under normal circumstance this "fist bump" would have merited comment, but then largely been ignored. In this case, though, it represented the Saudi humiliation of the American President is subtle ways that will be missed by most Americans, but that will certainly be picked up by governments around the world.

To start, according to protocol, the Crown Prince need not have greeted the President at his car but could have met him in the palace behind closed doors. By meeting President Biden at his car, the Crown Prince made sure that the entire scene was caught by television cameras and broadcast worldwide.

The message was clear. "President Biden declared me and my country a pariah yet here he is, shaking hands with me in betrayal of all his alleged high principles." This made worse by the fact President Biden had little choice but to act as he did as he was coming to Saudi Arabia to get its support for increased oil production to offset rising energy costs.

This is where domestic American politics comes into play. Democrats (generally, but not all) had declared Saudi Arabia a violator of human and women's rights and an enemy of Israel. Republicans (generally, but not all) argued that the trip to Saudi Arabia was not needed at all as the United States could, if the President would allow it, by energy self-sufficient. Thus the President was humiliated at both ends of the American political spectrum.

Worse still, the President was further humiliated when he could get no public commitment from Saudi Arabia to increase oil production nor would it publicly support the President's other goal - to get Iran to sign on to an Obama era nuclear treaty. (Saudi Arabia believes that the treaty with Iran was sheer folly and was thrilled when President Trump scrapped it a few years earlier.)

To add to all this, President Biden had tried to make the case that support for Saudi Arabia was a betrayal of America's Israeli allies. The problem being that Saudi Arabia and Israel get along quite well as both view Iran as a common enemy. Thus, Biden was helping Israel in a way that Israel does not want to be helped.

Put it all together and the "fist bump" became the public humiliation seen round the world - well beyond just the human rights symbolism. In terms of domestic politics, Biden made not just Republicans, but his own party mad at him. In terms of international relations, Biden got nothing of what he wanted yet appeared to be groveling before Saudi Arabia and its' leadership.

American principles were made to seem hollow. Worse still, American power was seen as weak, craven and groveling. Little Saudi Arabia got a fist bump from America and replied with a subtle slap in the face. The international implications of that will not be good.

[NewsReader]

⬆️ Best Answer ⬆️

[Stoner710]

Dam and I thought Hi political analysis was thorough. On the one had I’m glad Joe Biden is humiliated in front of the entire world the man deserves it. Unfortunately I have to say America deserves the humiliation were the ones who decided to elect a non-coherent buffoon who can’t speak a word of English over a man who was polarizing but effective. Frankly the United States needs to pull its head out of its own ass stop listening to these global leads like Claus Schwab and Bill Gates and the notorious misguided Greta Thunberg, and do what’s right for the American people I don’t think Biden‘s approval ratings could get any lower than 28% and that’s on the lower end it’s between 28 and 32 but if he’s going to piss off both members of both political parties he has no future if they run him in 2024 they will lose they almost have to run him in 2024 because Who else are they going to get Gavin Newsom who’s let his state rot in poverty with heroin needles and human feces in the streets of the most beautiful areas of California? Or Kamala Harris who can’t speak like Joe Biden I don’t know who’s worse Kamala Harris or Joe Biden. Or maybe Pete Buttigieg the forgettable transportation secretary who took three months of maternity leave and allowed supply chains to get worse and worse and nobody knows he was gone. Democrats are in trouble unfortunately Republicans need to get their heads out their asses, And stop trying to run Trump again the only person that Joe Biden can beat in the current polls right now is Donald Trump because Donald Trump mouth gets them into cost in trouble. He needs to pass the charge to somebody like Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis and get out of the way

[nightdrot]

Well, since it is a little off topic, I won't reply too deeply to your point. Yes, to be sure, Americans get into some bad habits, so to speak.

However, we've been here before. Recall the fun filled 1960s and 70s, born of the fact, in part, that after the peace, prosperity and relative - it is ALWAYS relative - stability of the 1950s, cultural attitudes began to take such things for granted. So discontent arose and thus was born the campus radicalism, riots, high crime, assassinations, Hippies and other joys of the 60s.

Thence came the economic turmoil of the 1970s. Over time, the nation grew weary of the tumult that it had, at one point, seen as the enthusiasms and purity of the "youth culture," and thus a return to calm and relative stability of the 1980s and 1990s. Rinse and repeat the cycle - aided by the fact that the generation that had rioted and smoked pot in the 1960s has now grown up and is running the corporations, media, culture and politics against which it once protested.

These things come and go and while the frustration is understandable, best to recall the words of Adam Smith - the father of free market economics and author of "The Wealth of Nations," - "There is much ruin in a nation." Such is the fate of all things made by mortal and fallible beings.

[nightdrot]

@NewsReader Thanks so much for your kind comment.

[Guy13]

People are dumb-downed. Media and all politicians know it. All believe what's on social media and most of that Crowd think bumping is cool... and 1/2 of that group's kids are still wearing masks...

[Stoner710]

True social media is going to destroy our society. The reason we’re so polarized as a nation is because we have built these communities online rather then the people in our area so now some people living in Florida have more in common with California and some in California have more in common with the people of Texas. Which is why we’re seeing a phenomenon called the great sword where people are moving to states that more align with their political values

[Guy13]

Interesting construct and I did not realize that this psychological/sociological transaction was taking place...

[Stoner710]

It is, social media platforms are a great place for groupthink and confirmation bias to take place. Think if someone came out trans in Ohio in the 1980s they would be looked at was weird and they would then hide the idea that there trans, I’m 2020 they have an online community that this it’s normal as a result the mental illness in normalized and those who normally would have shunned the trans person are now being called bigot by the online community. So they form there own groups and have there own groupthink and confirmation bias. Which polarizes the American people even more. As a result social media is pretty much the cyanide pill of western civilization

[FunkyMonkee]

I'm not sure but, it looked to me like the other guy started going that way!

[OddBeMe]

Its sweltering hypocrisy. I get why you dont understand. Your side never cares about hypocrisy.

[NYCQuestions1976]

Pretty much what @nightdrot posted.

[RolandCuthbert]

Because he legitimized a murderer.

[SlangSlayer]

So is the people that make majsoorty of Americans stuff lol.
We work with a bunch or murders

[RolandCuthbert]

@SlangSlayer But we don't fist bump them on camera to legitimize them in the eyes of their citizens. If he was going to do that, at least release a statement condemning the murder of Khashoggi and holding Saudi Arabia responsible.

[SlangSlayer]

Ah I didn't think about it that way

[Stoner710]

MBS is a murder but again so is most leaders in the Middle East the only leader in the Middle East that isn’t a murders is Benny Gunst. Who will soon be replaced once again with Benjamin Netanyahu.

If the media was intellectually consistent they would be against Joe Biden meeting with Xing Jing ping who is responsible for Uyghur genocide. So don’t meet with China. Same thing goes for Nicolas Madura who celebrated with saltbaiy cooking him a steak dinner while his people eat there dogs in order to survive.

So explain to me who we should not have an international relationship with MBS but we should have an relationship with the Iran Syria Turkey Venezuela or China

[RolandCuthbert]

How is the media intellectually inconsistent? And what does that even mean coming from a trumper?

The media calls out corrupt genocidal leaders all the time. The funny thing is you know this, you just disagree with their analysis. So let's stop pretending this is about the media.

This is about Biden and his inability to show leadership. Call MBS out. I know you have to meet with him, but release a statement condemning the murder and making the argument that freedom of speech is far better than murdering folks who say bad things about you.

[Stoner710]

The way that the media is being intellectually inconsistent is because they haven’t called out the leader of China the leader of Iran the leader of Venezuela in the same way they’re calling out Mohammad bin Salman. If they were intellectually consistent they would demand a boycott of these countries as well but they’re only doing it to Saudi Arabia because he murdered one journalist. The rest of the leaders of these countries have killed many many journalists or the centers for people who just disagree with the political regime.

By the way I don’t support Trump for a second run I support Ron DeSantis

Now you’re right Joe Biden can’t lead a horse to water much less entire country out of 338 million people

[RolandCuthbert]

Oh course they have called out China. I mean what do you know by watching OAN? They aren't carrying that story. There isn't a mention of Uyghurs there.

www.nbcnews.com/.../chinese-government-hunting-uyghurs-world-help-surprising-countries-rcna24987

www.npr.org/.../new-report-details-firsthand-accounts-of-torture-from-uyghur-muslims-in-china

But it isn't like you observe an objective reality. So facts won't convince you. You are making a political argument. That's why you target the mainstream media when your own media doesn't give a fuck about Uyghurs.

And no one even asked for a boycott of Saudi Arabia. Only an acknowledgement that the government murdered someone because they disliked his criticism.

WTF?

[Stoner710]

I don’t watch OAN I watch the dailywire and the blaze. But again you don’t see a called for boycott on China like you do from leftist media also there has been calls to boycott Saudi Arabia you don’t see the same thing when it comes to China or Venezuela rsf.org/.../rsf-calls-boycott-riyadh-summit-freeze-business-ties-saudis

[RolandCuthbert]

You don't watch OAN? Well, you sure didn't criticize it.

But again, you aren't making any sense. No one called for a boycott of Saudi Arabia. That would simply be stupid. We have interests that are mutual when it comes to Saudi Arabia. The point is to illuminate the truth about a brutal regime.

That's all.

What you are saying is simply not rational.

[Stoner710]

I’m asking for a moral standard when it comes to the media you hit the nail on the head we put our moral standards aside when we have interest that are mutual.

Still doesn’t make up for the fact that they won’t criticize Biden for making deals with China or any other Mild Eastern state. While criticizing Mohammad bin Salman at the same time. I’m asking for a stance over the other and why situations change between one country over the other either we hold one standard no the other or standard are meaningless and it’s just A stupid political game which should not exist.

[RolandCuthbert]

You have to be a moral person to ask for a moral standard. You are not moral, so why the hypocrisy? There are no standard of ethics or morality that you apply universally. You apply your standards politically. If a person has politics you approve of they are exempt. If they have politics you disagree with, they are not.

So why do you go through these rituals pretending to care about standards?

And again, it is not about deal making. We make deals with too many nations that have too many problems. But not calling out obvious atrocities, brutality, and wrongdoing is not helpful. And that's what Biden did when he went to Saudi Arabia.

As for what actions Biden has taken against China, it is way more than he has taken against Saudi Arabia. Check your anti-liberal news sources. Like I said, you are only fooling yourself.

www.axios.com/.../biden-signs-uyghur-forced-labor-bill

President Biden signed a bill Thursday banning imports from China's Xinjiang region and punishing the Chinese government for its genocide of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, per a White House release.

Why it matters: Human rights activists say the bill will impose the first substantive costs the Chinese government has ever faced for its atrocities in Xinjiang. This could set a precedent for other countries to follow suit, writes Axios' Zachary Basu.