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Washington Post columnist Max Booth’s defense of President Biden fell flat on Twitter later Sunday afternoon.
Earlier that morning, Booth published an op-ed titled “Give Biden some slack. Presidents of the United States have to deal with dictators.” The piece specifically referenced the image of Biden punching Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) despite the Middle Eastern leader’s numerous human rights abuses.
“I, too, at first recoiled from this unpleasant image. But then I remembered that MBS is hardly the first, or even the worst, despot to be feted in this way by US presidents. Harry Truman shook hands with Joseph Stalin, Richard Nixon with Mao Zedong—both of these dictators had far more blood on their hands than MBS. Columnists may hurl thunderbolts of indignation from on high, but moral purity is a luxury no leader of a great nation can afford. Every president must pursue both America’s ideals and its interests — and often they are at odds,” Booth wrote.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman punches U.S. President Joe Biden upon his arrival at the Al Salman Palace, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. Bandar Algalood/Courtesy of the Saudi Royal Court/Distributed via REUTERS
His article also appeared to denigrate the Saudi Arabian leader in defense of Biden’s attempts to reach out to him.
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“In truth, MBS is a more ambivalent figure than the cartoon villain he is so often portrayed as in media coverage. It is true that he is cruel and repressive. He created an atmosphere of fear in Saudi Arabia, imprisoned dissidents and amassed absolute power. But despite being politically illiberal, he liberalized Saudi society,” Booth argued.
Twitter users were quick to attack Boot’s article for defending Biden and ignoring Mohammed bin Salman following the death and dismemberment of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.
President Biden speaks during an arrival ceremony after arriving at Ben Gurion Airport, Wednesday, July 13, 2022, in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
New York Magazine journalist Yashar Ali tweeted: “This is so wrong. MBS reforms are decoration for normalization [the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s] image. Saudi monarchs have always been repressive, but MBS can’t even uphold basic norms. He is trying to kill two men (MBN and Aljabri) who have saved many American lives! He killed your colleague!”
Human rights lawyer Jamil Jaffer wrote: “If you want oil to be cheap and Iran to be isolated, you must be willing to forgive the occasional murder of an American journalist” (my paraphrase) is at least as good an argument as these , which Max Boot has offered in the past.”
“Let’s not turn a dictator who ordered a Washington Post columnist killed and dismembered into a cartoon villain, Washington Post columnist argues,” tweeted The Intercept writer John Schwartz.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 16: President Joe Biden answers questions from reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on July 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. President Biden just returned from a visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, and met with the Israeli leader earlier in the week. (Photo: Thassos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The popular Defiant L’s Twitter account also posted a contrast between Boot’s calls to “weaken Biden” and his previous claims that former President Trump “coddled” foreign dictators.
“Oh @MaxBoot never stop being the boot-licking scumbag that you are,” tweeted conservative writer Carmine Sabia, along with Defiant L’s tweet.
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Booth responded to criticism of his article on Twitter.
“Seeing a lot of offensive responses to my column defending Biden’s meeting with MBS,” Booth wrote. “I share the anger at the ‘heinous’ crime of MBS (as I noted). But presidents, unlike Twitter trolls, must balance interests and ideals. That’s what Biden is doing.”
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A Fox News poll found that less than half of American voters are happy with the US buying oil from Saudi Arabia, with more than 80% saying the country’s human rights record is a problem.
Lindsay Cornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick.
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