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Washington Post columnist Max Boot’s defense of President Biden fell on Twitter Sunday afternoon.
That same morning, Boot published an opinion piece titled “Cut Biden a little loose. U.S. presidents have to deal with dictators.” The piece specifically referred to the image of Biden punching Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) of Saudi Arabia despite the Middle East leader’s multiple human rights violations.
“I also stepped back at first in the face of that nasty image. But then I remembered that MBS is not the first, not even the worst, despot that American presidents have greeted in a similar way. Harry Truman shook hands. to Joseph Stalin, Richard Nixon with Mao Zedong, and these two dictators had much more blood on their hands than MBS.Columnists can throw flashes of indignation from above, but moral purity is a luxury that no leader of a great nation can afford. Every president must pursue both. The ideals of the United States and its interests, and they often disagree, “Boot wrote.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman punches U.S. President Joe Biden with his fist on his arrival at Al Salman’s palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 15, 2022. Bandar Algaloud / Courtesy of the Saudi Royal Court / Brochure via REUTERS
His article also appeared to whitewash the Saudi leader in defense of Biden’s attempts to appeal to him.
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“In truth, MBS is a more ambivalent figure than the cartoon villain who is so often told in the media. It is true that he is cruel and repressive. He has created a climate of fear in Saudi Arabia, the dissidents imprisoned and accumulated absolute power. But while it is politically illiberal, it is liberalizing Saudi society, “Boot argued.
Twitter users quickly attacked Boot’s article to defend Biden and shrug Mohammed bin Salman’s shoulders following the death and dismemberment of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.
President Biden speaks during an arrival ceremony after arriving at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, in Tel Aviv. (Photo by AP / Evan Vucci)
New York magazine journalist Yashar Ali tweeted: “This is very bad. MBS reforms are a make-up in order to normalize. [the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s] image. Saudi monarchs have always been repressive, but MBS cannot even maintain the basic rules. He is trying to kill two men (MBN and Aljabri) who have saved many American lives! He killed your partner! “
Human rights lawyer Jameel Jaffer wrote: “‘If you want oil to be cheap and Iran isolated, you must be willing to forgive the occasional murder of an American journalist’ (my paraphrase ) is at least as good an argument as the ones Max Boot has offered in the past “.
“We don’t turn a dictator who had a Washington Post columnist assassinated and dismembered into a cartoon villain,” argues the Washington Post columnist, “tweeted Jon Schwarz, a writer for The Intercept.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 16: President Joe Biden asks reporters about the southern turf of the White House on July 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. President Biden has just returned from visiting 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 by Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images)
Defiant L’s popular Twitter account also posted a contrast between Boot’s calls to “cut some flake” and his earlier claims that former President Trump “coupled” foreign dictators.
“Oh @MaxBoot never stop being the scammer you are,” conservative writer Carmine Sabia tweeted, along with Defiant L’s tweet.
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Boot responded to criticism of his article on Twitter.
“I’m seeing a lot of abusive responses in my column advocating for Biden’s meeting with MBS,” Boot wrote. “I share my anger at MBS ‘vile’ crime (as I pointed out). But presidents, unlike Twitter trolls, have to balance interests and ideals. That’s what Biden is doing.”
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A Fox News poll showed that less than half of American voters felt comfortable buying oil in Saudi Arabia and more than 80% consider the country’s human rights record a problem.
Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick.