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Biden to Deliver Remarks After Meeting with Saudi Crown Prince MBS; Interview with Global Opinions Writer, The Washington Post Jason Rezaian; Biden Delivers Remarks After Meeting with Saudi Crown Prince MBS; Biden Says he Raised to Saudi Crown Prince Regarding Khashoggi Murder. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 15, 2022 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: So, Wolf, this was just added to the President's schedule. Of course, you've covered several administrations. What's the significance of an impromptu event like this?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: You're absolutely right. It was not on the previous schedule that the President would make remarks and bring in reporters, hear what he has to say, and maybe even answer a few questions. Clearly, the President wants to make a statement about what emerged from this very important meeting with the Saudi leadership. What emerged on the issue of oil, for example? Did he get a commitment from the Saudis to increase oil production, and perhaps reduce the cost of gasoline in the United States?

Certainly, he's going to speak a little bit, I'm sure, about what -- we all know that the issue of Jamal Khashoggi came up during this meeting. I assume he's going to tell us how that played out with the Saudis. What he -- what concerns he raised and how the Saudis reacted.

And finally, let's see what he says about this U.S. effort that's intensifying in recent weeks to try to encourage the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel along the lines of what some other Arab countries have done, like the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Let's see if they made any progress on that front between Saudi Arabia and Israel. That would be very significant if he emerges from these talks and announces that, yes, the Saudis are committed to doing so. We shall see.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we'll see in a couple of minutes exactly what was discussed. But going into this meeting, Phil, was there a list? Is there a framework of what a win is for the White House in this meeting with the Saudis?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's tough to define here, right? Because without question, a driving force behind the decision to have this meeting at all was the idea that the U.S. was pressuring the Saudi and other Persian Gulf countries to ramp up their oil production. U.S. officials have been very clear, they don't expect specific numbers coming out of this meeting. Their hope is to really, of course, in the next couple of weeks leading into the next OPEC Plus meeting, that's where you'll start to get a sense of what the agreement has been or what commitments have been made by Saudi officials here.

To Wolf's point, going into this meeting, guys, you have to keep in mind that there were months of meetings, mostly in Riyadh with top U.S. officials and their Saudi counterparts laying the groundwork for this day. Laying the groundwork for these bilateral meetings. And there will likely be, according to officials I have been speaking to, agreements on what Wolf was just talking about, trying to move Saudi closer, in terms of its relationship, with Israel.

The integration in the region, a very dynamic and changing region over the course of the last several years on areas like climate and technology, 5G, 6G. Those types of issues will all be issues that come up. And I think Wolf hits on a really key point here.

You were showing the pictures in the video of when the President walked in and fist bumped the Crown Prince. The Saudis have gotten everything they wanted out of that moment. And that was a moment that was largely dictated by the Saudi press agency because U.S. reporters were either weren't near where the fist bump occurred or the bilateral meetings. We couldn't get a boom mic near them. They didn't answer any questions at all. We couldn't hear what the two leaders were saying right now.

And so, everything that the Saudis would've wanted about this visit, the legitimacy of their Crown Prince, the future king of the country trying to essentially get the Americans to acknowledge that the relationship has moved back to a different place than it has been since 2018 in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. They got that. And you can just go on to their Twitter feeds or into their T.V. feeds and see it.

They are blasting out these images, very specific images with Biden and the Crown Prince. Not just the fist bump, but walking together to meet King Salman, sitting across from each other, and intends of bilateral meetings. And so, to some degree, besides just the details of what happened inside the meeting, President Biden had a necessity to speak after this meeting to at least frame it to some degree from the U.S. perspective. Because up to this point, it has been entirely framed by those photos of the entrance by the Saudis and by their press agency.

CAMEROTA: Wolf, I think that's such an interesting point that Phil raises because obviously a lot of attention has been paid to whether there would be a handshake or a fist bump. It's -- it was optics except that obviously it's also imbued with meaning. And I guess that the President thought that a fist bump was less friendly somehow than a handshake, but we got this note from "The Washington Post" -- a statement, I should say, from the publisher of "The Washington Post" who says, the fist bump between President Biden and Mohammed Bin Salman was worse than a handshake. It was shameful. It projected a level of intimacy and comfort that delivers to MBS the unwarranted redemption he has been desperately seeking. Your thoughts?

BLITZER: Well, I think Phil makes an important point. The Saudis clearly got what they wanted. They wanted respect. They wanted to be seen as an important player in the region. By the mere fact that the President of the United States, joined by the Secretary of State, his national security adviser, and other top White House officials flew all the way over here to meet with the crown prince and the king, underscored how important the U.S. regards Saudi Arabia. And that's what the Saudis wanted.

[15:35:00]

And it's significant, all the pictures that we've seen of the fist bump, the walking in, these were from Saudi sources, not U.S. media. It was the Saudi media that got access to these moments which was significant. The Saudis wanted these pictures to be out there. The Saudi foreign minister released a lot of still pictures of the meeting that was going on because it seemed to elevate the Saudis. And so, no matter what emerges and what the President says, I think the Saudis will emerge from all of this. They will see themselves as having achieved what they wanted. Respectability, they got that, from the President of the United States.

BLACKWELL: All right. Phil, Wolf, stay with us. I want to bring in now, Jason Rezaian. He is the Global Opinions Writer for "The Washington Post". We also have our Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson. Josh Rogin, CNN political analyst and "Washington Post" columnist, good to have you as well.

Let me start with you, Josh. You are a "Washington Post" columnist. Alisyn just read the statement from the publisher and CEO. And I read on Twitter that you were saying that the -- the questions over, would it be a handshake, or fist bump were inflated and a little silly. But the imagery and the value for the Saudis, what do you make of that moment?

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. Well, I agree with my boss. Fred Ryan, that this was an embarrassing moment for the United States government, for President Biden in a concession to the propaganda victory of Mohammed Bin Salman. But, yes, I also would add another point that actually the fist bump is not the most important thing going on here.

And we just read a list of things that the Saudis got. And my question is sort of, what did the U.S. get? What did we get in return? Is it -- we didn't get the oil and we didn't get security guarantees? We didn't get human rights guarantees. Well, then what was all of this for? What is all of this about? And if we're returning to, sort of, a status quo relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia because according to the Biden Administration.

Well, the alternative didn't work. We tried to pressure them. They didn't like it. Now, we can't afford to do it anymore. All we're doing is repeating a long-standing pattern of putting ourselves in the junior position of the relationship and putting them in the senior position of the relationship. Which if you think about it is completely backwards, right? We're the superpower, they're in the client state. And we provide their security, and they're supposed to keep the oil market stable. That's the deal.

And if they're not doing that, then what are we getting out of this alliance in the first place? That's my question. So, yes, I agree with my boss. The fist bump was embarrassing and shameful. But I'm just saying there's more to it than that. And it's also a strategic defeat for the United States as well.

CAMEROTA: Jason, your thoughts on all of that?

JASON REZAIAN, GLOBAL OPINIONS WRITER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Yes, Alisyn, this is going to be the rare occasion where I agree wholeheartedly with Josh. We sit across from each other and debate issues all the time. But this is one that I think we are in a lot of agreement on.

We were both in a meeting at "The Washington Post" editorial board with Mohammed Bin Salman in 2018. It was off the record, so we won't talk about the content of that meeting. But I remember walking out of that meeting and chatting with Josh and, you know, him asking me, you know, as someone who spent a lot of time in the Middle East, my perceptions of the crown prince and Saudi Arabia.

And, you know, I will refer back to what I told him then. I mean, we're going to be stuck with this person as the leader of the main supply of oil, potentially for another 50 or 60 years. These guys tend to live a very long time. And that's a very, very, very dangerous thing to be stepping into, especially when we're not seemingly getting any concessions in return on the human rights front. It's shocking how poorly Saudi Arabia has done over the years, but even worse under Mohammed Bin Salman. And so, yes, I think it's a travesty.

BLACKWELL: Again, we're waiting for remarks from the President after his two-hour meeting with the Saudi king, the crown prince, and other officials there.

Nic Robertson, to you, the White House spent weeks trying to contextualize the role of MBS in this meeting. Would he be there? Would he be part of it? What would be the interaction? Is there any indication from the greeting, from the setup, from the list of topics that this meeting is any different than it would have been before the murder of Jamal Khashoggi that that had any influence on what happened here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: MBS was always going to be there. He was always going to be the head of the ministers who report to him and work under his direction, on his vision for building the country. And I think, you know, one of the takeaways here, let's wind back the clock when we say, what is the United States getting out of this?

Let's rewind the clock to when former President Trump came here. And there was those big weapons sales, and he said, look, if I don't sell those weapons to the Saudis, they'll buy them from the Russians and the Chinese. [15:40:00]

OK. Wind the clock forward to earlier this year, when according to Saudi sources I was talking to last night said that the White House initially asked the Saudis to come here in April. In April to come for a meeting. And they said, look, we can't come. It's the time of Eid. It's a big holiday festival here. We can't do it.

But you know who was going to come here and was expected to come here? It was the Chinese leader. President Xi was expected to come right after Eid and he was expected to sell the Saudis defensive missile systems and factories in Saudi Arabia to build more defensive missile systems.

So, you can see the timing of the White House's initial request to come as, sort of, in an effort to, sort of, thwart Xi -- President Xi of China getting a stronger foot and providing security for Saudi Arabia. The Saudis always wanted a relationship first and foremost with the United States because they think they come first and foremost in the Gulf States as one of the United States' concerns. They know they wouldn't get that out of China. And they certainly wouldn't get it out of Russia.

But if they can't get the security they want in this volatile region from their longest ally, they will turn to others. And that's part of what the United States gets here. That is a relationship in the Gulf. You can pivot -- the view from here is, you know, the United States can pivot to Asia. But it cannot pivot over the heads of the Gulf. A rapidly changing region, a dynamic region that has a vision for the future that is changing that wants the United States to be an investor and a partner, business-to-business here in Saudi Arabia for that.

So, it is -- if you're taking on China and Russia in the world at the moment, you need the Gulf. You need the Gulf States. And although there may be no commitment on oil, what you will hear, likely, is pointing out that OPEC plus, which was a signature foreign policy achievement of Saudi Arabia has over the past few months been delivering more and more oil. And they will do the same over July, and the same over August.

And the Saudis will make the point that there isn't the refining capacity around the world to take all that oil if they pumped it. And they would say that their oil doesn't affect the markets in that rapid way that leaders, like President Biden and his European union allies need.

And to add to the other point, if that is correct, the OPEC Plus is going to increase the output and that does have an impact on oil prices. President Biden comes here carrying the burden of all of his European allies, as well as that of domestic concerns about, you know, rising gas prices. Why? Because if publics in Europe and the United States move away from supporting their leaders in the fight against Russia in supporting Ukraine, then that fight will, in essence, crumble sooner. Biden carries the weight of the world. And if he delivers some of it, there will be benefits in Europe, too. CAMEROTA: Josh, Jason, hold those thoughts for a moment. We've just gotten a one-minute warning that the President will be coming out. I know you guys want to respond to that. Let's go back to Wolf Blitzer and Phil Mattingly who are standing by for the speech as well.

So, Wolf, basically, will there be a deliverable announced of some kind as we were just heard from Nic? Will he explain what he got out of this visit?

BLITZER: I assume he will. He'll try to explain. I came here, I tried to achieve X, Y and Z. Here's what I got. And let's see how far that goes. He's -- I think he's probably, I could be wrong, but I assume he's going to wrap up, not only these talks here in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, but also his earlier talks with the Israeli leadership and the Palestinian leadership in Israel and the West Bank.

I think he's going to try to bring in the big picture of what's going on in the Middle East as far as the U.S. is concerned. Is there movement towards some sort of more normal -- normalized relationship between the Arab countries and Israel, for example? Did he get what he wanted from the Saudis, for example, to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel? Let's see what he says on those fronts. I assume he's going to try to project success going into -- in this important statement he's about to make.

BLACKWELL: Yes, Phil. Again, we are waiting for the President to make remarks. You know, the last time we heard from the President in this setting, it was a Q and A along with the Israeli prime minister. And the domestic issues did not come up. But, of course, so we learned today about Joe Manchin, specifically on the climate clauses of legislation, tax increases. If he takes questions today, that possibly could come up as well.

MATTINGLY: It certainly could. And look, the President has addressed what Senator Manchin did, obviously, undercutting the, kind of, cornerstone climate legislation or climate effort legislatively. That the president and his team have been pushing for for more than a year and a half now. The President is saying, while he was frustrated, he will certainly pursue executive actions. And he signed off on Leader Schumer, Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate. And Manchin continuing to pursue an even more scaled-back deal.

[15:45:00]

Keep in mind, guys, we've gone from, what, $2.3 trillion down to $1.5, down to $1, down to maybe $300 billion at this point in time but still trying to get something done related to drug prices and related to health care. So, continuing to push forward and trying to do that in the next couple of weeks.

Look, you cannot view anything that -- on this trip right now without also paying attention to what's happening on the domestic side of things. Because, guys, as you know well, the domestic side of things is a big driver for why President Biden is here at the moment. Yes, as Nic points out so eloquently, there are so many different dynamics at play here, geopolitically, happening around the world. But, you know, the president likely would not be here, would not have ramped up the effort to bring Saudi Arabia back on the fold --

CAMEROTA: Phil, sorry to interrupt. Here is President Biden now speaking from Saudi Arabia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- Saudi leadership here in Jeddah, meeting with the king for about a little over half an hour, working in session with the crown prince, and all the ministers from the -- from energy minister to sports minister, all the way down the line. And I got the chance to talk to basically the entire Saudi government.

And thanks to many months of quiet diplomacy by the staff, we have accomplished some significant business today. First, as you saw this morning, the Saudis will open their airspace to all civilian carriers. That is a big deal. A big deal. Not only symbolically, but substantively, it's a big deal. It means Saudi airspace is now open to flights to and from Israel. This is the first tangible step on the path of what I hope will eventually be a broader normalization of relations.

Second, we concluded a historic deal to transform a flashpoint at the heart of the Middle East wars into an area of peace. International peacekeepers, including U.S. troops, will leave Tiran Island and the Red Sea where they've been for over 40 years since the Camp David Accords. Five Americans died on this strategically located island in 2020, and it's important to remember them today. Now, thanks to the break -- this breakthrough, this island will be open to tourism and economic development while retaining all necessary security arrangements. And the presence of freedom of navigation of all parties, including Israel.

Third, we agreed to work together to deepen and extend the Yemen ceasefire. And you know there's been -- there's carnage been in Yemen of late. And it's been in place more than three months resulting in the most peaceful period in Yemen in seven years. We further agreed to pursue a diplomatic process to achieve a wider settlement in Yemen. The Saudi and Saudi leadership also committed to continue to facilitate the delivery of food and humanitarian goods to civilians. In this context, we discussed Saudi Arabia's security needs to defend the kingdom given very real threats from Iran and Iran's proxies.

Fourth, we concluded several new arrangements to better position our nations for the coming decades. Saudi Arabia will invest in new U.S.- led technology to develop and secure reliable 5G and 6G networks, both here and in the future in developing countries to coordinate with the partnership for the global initiative, the global infrastructure, and investment which I have put together at the G-7. This new technology solution for 5G called, "Open Ran" will outcompete other platforms including from China.

Saudi Arabia will also partner with us on a far-reaching clean energy initiative. Focused on green hydrogen, solar, carbon capture, nuclear and other projects to accelerate the world's clean energy transition and to help the U.S. clean energy industry set global standards. And fifth, we had a good discussion on ensuring global energy security and adequate oil supplies to support global economic growth. And that will begin shortly. And I'm doing all I can to increase the supply for the United States of America, which I expect to happen. The Saudis share that urgency. And based on our discussions today, I expect we'll see further steps in the coming weeks.

Finally, we discussed human rights and the need for political reform. As always -- as I always do, I made clear that the topic was vitally important to me and to the United States. With respect to the murder of Khashoggi, I raised it at the top of the meeting making it clear what I thought of it at the time and what I think of it now. And it was exactly -- I was straightforward and direct in discussing it. I made my view crystal clear. I said, very straightforwardly, for an American president to be silent on an issue of human rights is as consistent with -- an inconsistent with who we are and who I am. I'll always stand up for our values.

[15:50:00]

So, that's a quick summary of tonight's outcomes. Tomorrow with nine leaders from around the region we will have more. One thing we will discuss is the multi-billion-dollar commitment of the GCC to invest in the partnership for global infrastructure investment, which I announced at the G-7 last month. To help address the infrastructure needs of low and middle-income countries that don't have the word or where to borrow the funds. To meet the needs of their people.

And after years of failed efforts, we have now finalized an agreement to connect Iraq's electric grid to the GCC grids through Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and deepening Iraq's integration into the region and reducing its dependence on Iran. And it was pointed out to me that -- I was reminded by staff at the time at the meeting that I tried to do that back when I was in the early days of my vice presidency. Finally, it's done. Being done.

Tomorrow, I'll also be laying out an affirmative framework for America's engagement in the Middle East to build on these important steps going forward. The bottom line is this trip is about once again positioning America in this region for the future. We are not going to leave a vacuum in the Middle East for Russia or China to fill. And we're getting results. I'll take a couple of questions now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the crown prince's response to your comments about Khashoggi?

BIDEN: He basically said that he was not personally responsible for it. I indicated that I thought he was. He said, he was not personally responsible for it and he took action against those who were responsible. And we -- and then I went on to talk more about how that dealing with any opposition to the -- or criticism of the Saudi administration and other countries was viewed as, to me, a violation of human rights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, two quick questions, if I may. First, we just

heard from Jamal Khashoggi's wife who said after this visit the blood of MBS's next victim is on your hands. What do you say to Mrs. Khashoggi?

BIDEN: I'm sorry she feels that way. I was straightforward back then. I was straightforward today. What I -- this is a meeting. Not -- I didn't come here to meet with the crown prince. I came here to meet with the GCC and nine nations. To deal with the security and the needs of the free world, and particularly the United States. And not leave a vacuum here, which was happening as it has in other parts of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On gas prices, if I may, you said that we'll see relief at some point in the not too distant future. What is the message for Americans who are looking for that relief now? When should they expect to see a real change in prices though they've already been coming down?

BIDEN: There has been a real change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've already been coming down.

BIDEN: That's right. They've been coming down every single day, to the best of my knowledge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When will we see the impact of this visit?

BIDEN: I suspect you won't see that for another couple of weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --

BIDEN: And we'll see more when we see gas stations start to lower their price consistent with what they're paying for oil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, do you regret calling the Saudis a pariah during the campaign --

BIDEN: I don't regret anything I said. Next question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel that way, though, Mr. President?

BIDEN: I just answered your question, do I regret it? I don't regret anything that I said. What happened to Khashoggi was outrageous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President?

BIDEN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're coming under a lot of fire for your fist bump with the crown prince. What -- I just wanted to give you a chance to respond to that. But also, how can you be sure that another incident, another murder like Jamal Khashoggi won't happen again?

BIDEN: God love you. What a silly question. How can I possibly be sure of any of that? I just made it clear, if anything occurs like that again, they'll get that response and much more. Look, you've heard me say before, and when I criticized Xi Jinping for slave labor and what they're doing in the Western mountains of China, and I said, I had no right to criticize China.

And I said look, I am president of the United States of America. For the United States president to remain silent on a clear violation of human rights is totally inconsistent with who we are, what we are, and what we would do. What we believe. And so, I'm not going to remain silent. Can I predict anything is going to happen? Let alone here, let alone any other part of the world? No, but I don't know why you're all so surprised the way I react. No one has ever wondered that I mean what I say. The question is, I sometimes say all that I mean. That's --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what about your response to the fist bump?

BIDEN: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the issue of climate Joe Manchin, obviously, made significant news right now which appears to be torpedoing what was one of your biggest priorities as it relates to energy and to climate back at home. Your message to those Americans right now who are looking for that relief that would have a wide impact as it affects the climate and energy specifically.

[15:55:00]

BIDEN: I am not going away. I will use every power I have as president to continue to fulfill my pledge to move toward dealing with global warming. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, is Joe Manchin negotiating in good faith?

BIDEN: I didn't negotiate with Joe Manchin. I have no idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So, you've just been listening there to President Biden talking about what he thinks he accomplished in these conversations. Obviously, this visit was controversial, and he laid out, basically, six tenants of their talks that he defined as deliverables or basically things that he's coming away with that he thinks were very good. And I'll just start with the bottom.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Basically, about the Jamal Khashoggi. He said he raised it at the top of the meeting. He made his view crystal clear about his feelings as he did then about what happened to Jamal Khashoggi and how wrong it was. And he said that Mohammed Bin Salman claimed that he was not personally responsible, and President Biden said he thought he was.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And the President also talked about conversations over increasing energy supply, climate cooperation, 5G, 6G, we've got our panel here. I want to start you, Wolf. Are these the deliverables that the White House hoped to come out of this meeting with?

BLITZER: Well, the President wanted to stress, you know, that what he sees as the positive achievements that he secured over the course of these talks with the Saudis. And he suggested very strongly that the Saudis will in fact increase production of oil that down that could -- that down the road could result in lowering gas prices in the United States.

He did say, as you correctly point out, that at the beginning of the meeting, he raised the issue of Jamal Khashoggi with the Saudi leadership. The Saudis came back, I'm told, and quickly rejected the accusation that the Mohammed -- that the Saudi leadership deliberately ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. They say that that simply is not true. And they had a back and forth on that during the course of the meeting. And the U.S. Intelligence community believes that MBS, Mohammed Bin Salman, did in fact order the execution, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. And the Saudis fought back on that pretty hard, I'm told, during the course of that meeting.

On some of the other big issues, like Yemen for example, the President emerged saying that they made some really significant progress in dealing with these issues. So, he was stressing, as we knew going into this statement by the President, he was stressing what he saw as his achievements. And we'll see if they turn out to be real achievements.

CAMEROTA: Yes. So, Josh, tell us what you heard there.

ROGIN: Right, I think no surprises. You know, they traded -- they transferred a couple of Red Sea Islands to Saudi control in exchange for not making Israeli planes fly all the way around Saudi Arabia, which is ridiculous in the first place.

They -- he mentioned Khashoggi, it seemed like a box-checking exercise. I didn't hear that Biden mentioned any of the American hostages that are still in Saudi Arabia right now, some on exit bands, and some in Saudi prisons for tweets and other nonsense like that. I'm not sure if they mentioned that at all.

Investment in 5G, sure, that's great. But, you know, I'll just point all your viewers right now to the reports today that the Saudi regime doubled its imports of Russian oil this quarter. Doubled. In other words, they're not helping us fight Russia. They're helping Russia fight us. And if you think about, you know, sort of what Nic Robertson said earlier, which I respectfully disagree with, you know, I don't think the Saudis are going to run into Russian arms if we withdraw. I don't think they can depend on the Russian military considering what we've seen. I don't think they want to bet their security on the Chinese either.

And, you know, what we're seeing here is sort of an acknowledgment that, oh, well, yes. We need the Gulf. We need Saudi Arabia. But what if we thought about that again. What if we realize that actually they need us and we used the leverage that we have rather than succumb to the leverage they have. And that's just a thought I'd leave as we continue to follow the trip.

BLACKWELL: Jason, your takeaway?

REZAIAN: Yes, look, I mean, I think that this is just yet another example of the United States sacrificing our values for, you know, perceived strategic and economic interests that are probably short- term. Saudi Arabia is a country that buys a lot of weaponry from us, and it sells us a lot of oil. These are not people that share our cultural ideals or beliefs. It's a country where mass executions happen in public on a regular basis. Murdered one of our colleagues from "The Washington Post". As Josh mentioned, there are Americans being held hostages there. You know, I think we could reasonably demand a lot more from this relationship. It doesn't seem like we got anywhere.

CAMEROTA: Gentlemen, thank you very much for helping us sift through everything that we just heard from the President there. And what really was the point that he says was of this trip and then you all giving us the context. Thank you all.

BLACKWELL: You know, and the President, when he was asked about that fist bump, laughed. And of course, you read this, and I'm going to read it again because it was so concise and potent.

[16:00:00]