President Joe Biden was caught off guard when Saudi Arabia and Russia joined together to lead OPEC to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day. After Biden’s fist-bump visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last summer, he thought he had a deal with Mohammed bin Salman to increase production.
It is just shocking that a Saudi prince with a fondness for head-lopping, dismemberment and war crimes would go back on his word, no? The production cut is suspiciously timed to occur right before the midterm elections here in the United States. It makes sense—if I was an oil-producing strongman waging battles in Yemen or Ukraine, I’d be rooting for the Republicans, too.
I hate to say, “I told you so,” but I told you so, Joe. After a slap in the face that draws Saudi Arabia closer to Russia, adds more cash to Putin’s war coffers and undermines Democrats in the midterms, it sounds like Biden may be reconsidering our alliance with Saudi Arabia. (Although I like to think that support for the non-insurrectionary political party is based on more than the price of gasoline, but, alas . . . .)