President Joe Biden set himself up for some trolling online after he appeared confused regarding whether he was going to Saudi Arabia to plead for more oil or not.
As Biden spoke on the tarmac in Los Angeles at the foot of Air Force One, he first told reporters that he hadn't decided on the visit.
“No, not yet,” the 79-year-old POTUS replied, when pressed on the issue by a reporter.
However, moments later, the president appeared to contradict himself.
When a journalist asked Biden what was preventing him from making a decision and whether there were any particular “commitments from the Saudi's” he was waiting for, the president answered:
“It happens to be a larger meeting taking place in Saudi Arabia. That's the reason I'm going. It has to do with national security with the Israelis. It has to do with much larger issues than the energy.”
Biden is no stranger to gaffes and verbal blunders. Reporters and members of the public are often left confused after his statements made in front of the cameras.
This time was no exception. Biden’s “indecision” on whether he was “coming or going” was mocked online.
Some users yet again highlighted the age of the 46th POTUS and speculations regarding his cognitive decline.
Biden’s awkwardness before reporters - something many now think of as his trademark style - came as the US President’s July trip to Saudi Arabia is expected to be officially announced on Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Citing officials with direct knowledge of the plans, the report said that Biden’s trip is part of a broader one to the region, including a stop in Israel.
The visit’s agenda is aimed at bolstering relations with the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia at a time when Biden is anxious to find a way to lower soaring petrol prices in the United States.
The national average gas price exceeded $5 this week, with the cost of a gallon officially doubling over Biden’s time in office in early June. The Democrat POTUS has deflected his administration’s responsibility for fiscal, economic, and foreign policy woes. He laid the blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin, his country’s own oil companies, and lingering fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic for the crisis.
In Riyadh, the US president is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, sources added. Washington is said to be hoping to reset ties with Riyadh, but it is thought that Biden will raise the topic of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing when meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince.
Khashoggi - a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - was murdered in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Western media accused the highest ranks of the Saudi government, right up to the Crown Prince, of being connected with the murder - allegations that have been vehemently rejected by the Saudis.