Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman mocks U.S. President Joe 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 Biden since his days as vice president, and much preferred former President Donald Trump, Wall Street Journal reported.
Biden said on the campaign trail in 2020 that he saw “very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia.” He refused to talk to Prince Mohammed for over a year, and when they finally did meet in Jeddah in July, Saudi officials present felt that Biden didn’t want to be there, and was uninterested in the policy discussions, the people said. U.S. officials said Biden devoted significant time and energy in the meetings.
Geopolitical and economic forces have been driving wedges into the relationship between America and Saudi Arabia for years. But the enmity between Biden and Prince Mohammed has deepened the tension, and it is likely to get only messier.
