Tulsi Gabbard says Trump is making US 'Saudi Arabia's b***h' and awaits orders from 'masters' in the kingdom
With President Donald Trump blowing hot and cold on Iran, his opponents have found a big opportunity to lambast him in the pre-election season. Trump reacted by saying the US is “locked and loaded” after the attacks on two key oil installations in Saudi Arabia on September 14 but added that his administration was waiting to hear from the Kingdom about who carried them out and under what conditions would the retaliation take place.
This was enough to provoke his opponents in the Democratic Party. Tulsi Gabbard, the representative from Hawaii who is running for the presidential office in 2020, lashed out at the president in a tweet saying he “awaits instructions from his Saudi master." In her brutal tweet, she also said Trump was making the US act as “Saudi Arabia’s bitch” and mocked him over his “America First” slogan, suggesting that his foreign policy act was not doing justice to it.
Gabbard's take on Khashoggi episode
This is not the first time the 38-year-old leader has accused Trump on similar lines. In November 2018, Gabbard said Trump was making the US “Saudi Arabia’s bitch” after Washington failed to take a step against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the American intelligence said he was behind the murder of acclaimed journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump, on the other hand, was dismissive of the report and said: “Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event ― maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”
Trump sounded less certain after the drone attacks at the Saudi oil installations that disrupted five percent of the global trade and put the international community in deep anxiety. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was more confident about Iran having conducted the strikes although Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Tehran, claimed responsibility. Trump’s indications at Iran became clearer a day later.
Trump's Saudi stance during Obama days
To turn the clock even backward, it was Trump who had criticized his predecessor Barack Obama over his Saudi Arabia policy and opined that the Kingdom should “fight their own wars” or “pay us an absolute fortune to protect them." Trump, over the years before becoming the president, had alleged that Saudi Arabia took advantage of its relationship with the US and also accused Obama of having bowed before the Saudi king during a meeting. He blasted Obama over the matter and backed Republican Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential elections.
However, after taking over in January 2017, Trump made his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia - one of the US’s closest ally in the Middle East.