The New York Times:
The world’s richest man. One of the world’s most famous soccer
players. The president of soccer’s governing body. Dozens of
executives from the finance, tech and energy sectors. These are
some of the guests who attended President Trump’s black-tie dinner
for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia at the White
House on Tuesday evening.The red carpet welcome for Prince Mohammed is an extraordinary
moment in diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia. It is his first
visit to the United States since the 2018 killing of the
Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S.
intelligence determined the prince ordered. Prince
Mohammed has denied involvement.
Yours truly, back in August, after Tim Cook’s Oval Office gift of gold to Trump:
It is disturbing to think that the leader of a beloved, trusted,
and widely believed-to-be-ethical company like Apple has succumbed
to avarice. That Tim Cook feels no qualms about — or perhaps even
delights in — participating in a quid-pro-quo-driven corrupt
administration in which flattery, fealty, gifts, and
barely-concealed bribes are rewarded. That the United States
devolving into kleptocracy suits Tim Cook just fine, because
Apple’s pockets are deep enough to pay the vig.But the alternative is more disturbing.
What if Tim Cook is, in fact, strong, proud, and driven by a keen
sense of moral and ethical clarity? Perhaps Cook declined Trump’s
invitation to join his Middle East entourage in May only because
he was otherwise busy. But I believe there are bridges he will not
cross — and that trip, especially its implicit and explicit
praise and sanctification of the Saudi regime in general, and MBS
in particular, was one of them. The whole trip was grotesque, and
made a mockery of traditional American values.
MBS being feted in the White House is even more grotesque.
See also: Karen Attiah, who in her previous job as editor of The Washington Post’s global opinion section hired Jamal Khashoggi after he was exiled from Saudi Arabia, in The Guardian: “The Saudification of America Is Under Way”.
