Trump blames Biden policies in Saudi address
President Trump on Tuesday blamed former President Biden for foreign policy stances that he argued strained partnerships in the Middle East while speaking in Saudi Arabia to a group of government and business leaders.
'The Biden administration's extreme weakness and gross incompetence derailed progress towards peace, destabilized the region and put at risk everything we worked so hard to build together,' Trump said, calling the Biden administration 'hostile' toward the Middle East.
While speaking at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, he praised Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for what he was able to accomplish over the last four years under Biden and said that his predecessor had the 'worst administration in the history of our country.'
Trump also said when Biden lifted sanctions on Iran, 'they laughed at him.'
'They laughed at our leader and they're still laughing at our leader. They thought him a fool and they made nothing but trouble ever since, including the funding of Oct. 7,' Trump said.
He decried Biden for removing the foreign terrorist organization label on the Houthis in February 2021 and repeated his claims from the 2024 campaign trail that the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel wouldn't have occurred if he were president.
The president also reiterated calls for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, which were established in his first term.
'I think it'll be a tremendous tribute to your country, and it will be something that's really going to be very important for the future of the Middle East. I took a risk in doing them, and they've been an absolute bonanza for the countries that have joined. The Biden administration did nothing for four years,' Trump said. 'We would have had it filled out, but it will be a special day in the Middle East with the whole world watching when Saudi Arabia joins us.'
Biden in 2022 said he strongly supports the Abraham Accords as a way to integrate Israel in the Middle East.
The former president famously greeted the crown prince with a fist bump in 2022 ahead of their meeting in Jeddah. The trip to Saudi Arabia and face-to-face meeting was controversial given Biden previously condemned Saudi leadership on the 2020 campaign trail over the killing of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Trump has blamed Biden for a slew of issues in various speeches for the nearly four months he has been in office. He spent the week marking the 100th day of his second term blaming Biden for a wide range of economic issues and mocking him.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
29 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Trump's ‘Big, Beautiful' Bill Gets Slimmed Down in Senate
WASHINGTON—President Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill is getting smaller just as Republicans head into a crucial week, after the Senate's rules arbiter decided several controversial provisions don't qualify for the special procedure the GOP is using to bypass Democratic opposition. The tax-and-spending megabill centers on extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts, delivering on the spirit of his campaign promises to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime, and providing big lump sums of money for border security and defense. Those new costs are partially offset by spending cuts, in particular to Medicaid.
USA Today
30 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump rips Massie over Iran strike comments, threatens to campaign for primary challenger
Massie said his "side of the MAGA base" is made up of "non-interventionists" who are "tired from all these wars." President Donald Trump lashed out at Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a fellow Republican, over his criticism of U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites and threatened to campaign for the person running against him in the Republican primary next year. Soon after the military operation amid the Israel-Iran war was announced on June 21, Massie said the move was 'not Constitutional' on X. The day after the strike, Massie said it was 'a good week for the neocons and the military-industrial complex, who want war all the time" on CBS's "Face the Nation." Massie said his 'side of the MAGA base' is made up of 'non-interventionists" who are "tired from all these wars." Trump ripped into the lawmaker shortly afterward saying he was 'not MAGA, even though he likes to say he is.' 'Actually, MAGA doesn't want him, doesn't know him, and doesn't respect him,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 22. 'He is a negative force who almost always Votes 'NO,' no matter how good something may be.' Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, had also introduced a resolution on June 17 to prohibit U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran war without Congressional approval. Describing the bombings of the three nuclear sites as a 'spectacular military success' Trump called Massie a 'lightweight' congressman who was 'weak and ineffective.' The lawmaker was one of two Republicans who voted against his tax bill in the House of Representatives last month. 'He'll undoubtedly vote against the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, even though non-passage means a 68% Tax Increase for everybody, and many things far worse than that,' wrote Trump. 'MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague!'
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel says it has destroyed Iran's internal security HQ
Israel's military destroyed the headquarters of Iran's domestic policing arm, expanding its blows beyond Tehran's military and nuclear facilities as it continues to bombard its Middle East rival, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday. 'Air Force planes have just destroyed the headquarters of the Iranian regime's internal security — the central suppression arm of the Iranian dictator,' Katz wrote Wednesday in a post on social platform X, according to translation. 'As we promised — we will continue to target symbols of power and strike the ayatollahs' regime everywhere,' he continued. 'The tornado storm continues to strike Tehran.' Iran's internal security operations include the country's massive Basij Resistance Force, which polices dissent in the country. The latest target comes days after Israel launched a surprise attack on Iranian nuclear facilities and military outposts, killing several officials and scientists and setting off retaliatory attacks from Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that his country's strikes are crucial to ending a nuclear threat from the Islamic republic, which has long maintained that its uranium enrichment program is meant for civilian purposes. President Trump has meanwhile edged closer toward U.S. intervention in the military conflict to back up Israel. 'I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' he told reporters Wednesday. 'I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble.' 'And they want to negotiate,' the president added, referring to talks with the U.S. to dismantle its nuclear program. 'And I say why didn't you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction.' Despite increasing pressure on Iran amid the conflict, Trump has thus far pushed back on plans to target Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei directly. The president said Tuesday Khamenei would be an 'easy target' but that there are no plans in the works to take him out — 'at least right now.' Iran on Wednesday cautioned the U.S. against intervening, with the supreme leader saying it could lead to an 'all-out war' and pledging to 'never surrender.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
