Saudi Arabia's Biden-Harris skit highlights Riyadh's frustration with DC: Rove
Saudi Arabia is wary of a new Iran nuclear deal, he says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A skit about U.S. leadership that aired in Saudi media indicates a larger rift between what were most recently stronger allies, former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove said Tuesday.
The skit, which lampooned President Biden as a confused man at a podium who fell asleep mid-speech, is representative of a larger problem than simple personal differences, Rove told "Jesse Watters Primetime."
President Biden (Getty Images)
Biden has been trying to reconstitute the Iran Nuclear Deal with the help of climate czar John Kerry among other officials, which Rove said has infuriated the kingdom in Riyadh.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's not because of personal relationships, it's because of the actions that we have taken that they don't like," Rove said. "We've cut back the military assistance they think is vital. We've engaged in negotiations with Iran, their archenemy, to restart the so-called nuclear deal."
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Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Reuters)
Iran declared its intention to destroy Israel as well as recapture holy sites within Saudi Arabia, he added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think the bigger issues are these three, and they feel like the new administration in the last year-and-a-half has not been working with them, but is working against the interests of their country. And they don't understand why — they think of themselves as a strong ally and they know that we want help from them on energy issues, and they can't understand why we have on all these big issues: Yemen, Iran, nuclear deal and military assistance to Saudi Arabia been less than forthcoming in this administration."
Karl Rove (Getty Images)
Rove also took issue with Biden's trip to Iowa earlier in the day, where he reportedly spoke about ethanol and energy.