When Biden Met M.B.S.

The Daily

The New York Times

News, Daily News

4.5 • 97.8K Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2022

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the past, President Biden has called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for its human rights abuses and said that he would never meet with its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But Mr. Biden’s first trip as president to the Middle East included talks with the prince. What prompted the change in course? Guest: Ben Hubbard, the Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times.

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0:00.0	From the New York Times, I'm Sabrina Tavernisi. This is the Daily.
0:14.0	Two years ago, Joe Biden pledged to make Saudi Arabia a pariah state,
0:19.0	and vowed never to talk to its young leader, Muhammad bin Salman.
0:24.0	On Friday, Biden traveled to his palace to meet him.
0:28.0	Today, Beirut Bureau Chief Ben Hubbard, on what brought Biden back to the table with the Saudi leader,
0:35.0	and how America's relationship with the oil-rich nation has changed.
0:45.0	It's Monday, July 18th.
0:48.0	So Ben, Biden has been on this trip to the Middle East over the past week.
0:53.0	And I know he met a number of leaders throughout the region.
0:57.0	Tell me about what happened.
0:59.0	So this was Biden's first trip to the Middle East as president.
1:02.0	First, he went to Israel and met with a whole range of Israeli leaders.
1:06.0	And after that, he flew to Saudi Arabia. And this was primarily for two weeks.
1:11.0	And then he went to Israel, and he went to Israel, and met with a whole range of Israeli leaders.
1:15.0	He went to Saudi Arabia, and this was primarily for two reasons.
1:19.0	The first is that he is having trouble with the price of gas, obviously.
1:23.0	And so he's looking to talk to oil producers to see what can be done to try to bring down the oil price.
1:28.0	And second, he's concerned about Iran.
1:30.0	And so he's looking for partners in the region he can work with to find ways to deter Iran.
1:35.0	But this trip to Saudi Arabia was by far the most scrutinized part of the trip,
1:38.0	and that was largely because of its host.
1:41.0	Biden was going to be hosted by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
	...

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