"What a stupid question": Biden snaps at journalist in Jeddah

During his visit, US President Biden says he made a clear announcement to the Saudi crown prince: One more case of Khashoggi and the United States will react.

"What a stupid question": Biden snaps at journalist in Jeddah

During his visit, US President Biden says he made a clear announcement to the Saudi crown prince: One more case of Khashoggi and the United States will react. When a journalist asked Joe Biden about possible guarantees, the US President blurted out.

US President Joe Biden has responded harshly to a journalist's question during his visit to Saudi Arabia. "What a stupid question," Biden told a reporter. She had asked the US President how he could be sure that there would not be another murder like that of the Saudi government critic Jamal Khashoggi.

"How can I be sure?" Biden continued. He couldn't predict anything at all - certainly not for Saudi Arabia or any other part of the world.

Biden had already reacted in a less friendly way to a journalist's question in January, but at the time he used a much sharper choice of words. When the reporter threw a question at the President on the sidelines of a public appearance in Washington, Biden murmured - audible to everyone since his microphone was still on: "What a stupid son of a bitch", meaning: "What a stupid idiot."

The journalist Khashoggi, who lives in the USA, was brutally killed by a hit squad in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. US intelligence services are making the Crown Prince - also known by his acronym MBS - directly responsible. He denies having ordered the killing.

At their meeting in Jeddah, Biden says he raised the issue. He made it clear to the heir to the throne that another act like the murder of Jamal Khashoggi would result in a "response" from the United States, Biden said after his conversation with MBS. "I don't regret anything I said. What happened to Khashoggi was outrageous," said the US President.

Biden has had to defend his trip and meeting with the crown prince against criticism for weeks. The US President arrived in Saudi Arabia from Israel on Friday.