Jake Tapper slams Joe Biden for not 'punishing' MBS for Khashoggi's murder, Internet calls him 'Russian asset'
CNN's Jake Tapper raised eyebrows as he lashed out against President Joe Biden's apparent inaction on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman following Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi's assassination. Biden supporters, in turn, slammed the CNN anchor, branding him a "Russian asset" for his criticism of the new president.
"Yes, hi, I see all you folks willing to look away from the brutal slaughter of a US resident and Washington Post columnist because you like this president and thus it doesn’t bother you that Biden isn’t punishing the Saudi Royal Prince responsible. You’re wrong," Tapper tweeted on Saturday, February 27.
Yes, hi, I see all you folks willing to look away from the brutal slaughter of a US resident and Washington Post columnist because you like this president and thus it doesn’t bother you that Biden isn’t punishing the Saudi Royal Prince responsible. You’re wrong.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 27, 2021
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Biden supporters on Twitter ridiculed the 51-year-old Tapper for his criticism. "Jake are you a Russian asset now?? All your tweets are criticizing @JoeBiden? Give the man a chance, will you? He has been in power for 30 days and intel on this came out today? I didn’t see your outrage when arms were sold to Saudi by Kushner? WTF? BTW there is a raging pandemic," actress Kiki Melendez wrote.
"You don’t even know how this works, Jake Tapper. Stop talking until YOU know the INTELLIGENCE and the complicated nature of Pres Biden’s call on this. I voted for Biden, not you. Shilling abt this gets you nowhere. You don’t know squat abt this," a user noted. "Unfollowed Jake Tapper after that absolutely BS tweet of his about Biden not punishing the killer of that journalist fast enough. Fuck that kind of BS," a user chimed in.
Jake are you a Russian asset now?? All your tweets are criticizing @JoeBiden? Give the man a chance will you? He has been in power 30 days and intel on this came out today? I didn’t see your outrage when arms were sold to Saudi by Kushner? WTF? BTW there is a raging pandemic.
— Kiki Melendez (@kikimelendez) February 27, 2021
You don’t even know how this works, Jake Tapper. Stop talking until YOU know the INTELLIGENCE and the complicated nature of Pres Biden’s call on this. I voted for Biden not you. Shilling abt this gets you nowhere. You don’t know squat abt this. https://t.co/nhgkFMJDRK
— 🩺sassenach (@omwill3) February 27, 2021
Unfollowed Jake Tapper after that absolutely BS tweet of his about Biden not punishing the killer of that journalist fast enough. Fuck that kind of BS.
— 👠Beyond Blonde 👠 (@BeyondBlonde3) February 27, 2021
Tapper responded to the backlash saying: "I love this idea that Biden shouldn’t be criticized for not punishing MBS in any way for the murder of a Washington Post journalist because *maybe* he REALLY IS punishing MBS in some SUPER SECRET way that folks are conjuring out of thin air!!! Neat-o!!!"
I love this idea that Biden shouldn’t be criticized for not punishing MBS in any way for the murder of a Washington Post journalist because *maybe* he REALLY IS punishing MBS in some SUPER SECRET way that folks are conjuring out of thin air!!! Neat-o!!!
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 27, 2021
The same day, Tapper compared Biden to former President Donald Trump after the new administration failed to sanction Mohammad bin Salman, commonly referred to as MBS in the west. According to Newsweek, a US intelligence report published on Friday, February 26, concluded that the Saudi prince had approved the killing of the Washington Post journalist in 2018.
Tapper harshly criticized the Biden administration while speaking to Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) after it emerged that sanctions and visa bans were announced against citizens of Saudi Arabia, but did not target MBS specifically.
"Nothing — nothing — for MBS. MBS is getting away scot-free. What do you make of that?" Tapper asked Kaine, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2016.
"When it comes to accountability for the guy that was in charge, who ordered the brutal assassination, murder, of your constituent, a Washington Post columnist, for the crime of writing a column that said there should be more freedom and democracy in Saudi Arabia, MBS is getting away scot-free," Tapper continued. "How is that any different from Donald Trump? Joe Biden and Donald Trump have the same position — save MBS' ass!"
Kaine responded saying Biden's approach towards Saudi Arabia was different from Trump's and that their "positions are not the same". Kaine added, "We're going to have to explore in Congress what more we can do."
Khashoggi was reportedly killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, however, the kingdom's officials denied MBS had anything to do with the journalist's death. At the time, the veteran journalist was a resident of Virginia, according to Newsweek.
The intelligence community concluded in its report that MBS had approved the killing because he had "control of decision making in the Kingdom" and due to the "direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Mohammed bin Salman's protective detail in the operation."
"Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom's security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince's authorization," the intel report insisted.