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Dem Rep. Adam Schiff Tears Into Joe Biden For His Response to Monkeypox

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff is tearing into President Joe Biden for another failure.

During an interview on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” Schiff spoke with host Margaret Brennan about the Biden administration’s response to the spread of the monkeypox virus.

Schiff slammed Biden and his team for botching and turning a minor, solvable issue into a national crisis.

“I do want to quickly just button up what Dr. Jha addressed in regard to that letter you wrote this week in regard to monkeypox. You said, ‘The federal response falls short in terms of supply and timeliness regarding a vaccine. The current supply accounts for only 3.5 half million residents. Some shipments are not even expected to arrive until 2023.’ Why do you think the federal response is failing, when Dr. Jha says it’s contained and under control?” Brennan asked.

“I don’t know why there aren’t more vaccines available. I’m hearing from health care providers in my district that there are people lining up to get vaccinated and they don’t have the vaccines for them, and that is a real problem. As I think you indicated, we really don’t know the future course of this virus. But what we do now, early on, just as was the case with the pandemic, will determine just how bad this may get. And so, I want to light a fire under the administration and get them to make sure that we up production, that we up distribution, and that people that are ready and willing and able to get vaccinated have the ability to protect themselves,” Schiff said.

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This is the second time in recent weeks that Schiff has publicly gone after Biden.

Schiff slammed Biden last week for meeting with — and fist bumping — Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Biden had visited Saudi Arabia as part of his diplomatic trip to the Middle East to talk about security, human rights, and energy.

Biden fist bumped Mohammed bin Salman, which the White House maintained was done for COVID protocol.

“If we ever needed a visual reminder of the continuing grip oil-rich autocrats have on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, we got it today,” Schiff said on Twitter. “One fist bump is worth a thousand words.”

But he was not the only person to criticize Biden for the fist bump.

“A fist bump for the Saudis and the middle finger to Texas, Colorado, Alaska, North Dakota, and New Mexico, who stand ready to produce the oil Biden is begging Saudi Arabia for,” Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds said. “America LAST.”

“President Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia is another slap to the face of American oil and gas producers,” Republican Rep. Chip Roy said. “From day one, Biden has demonized reliable energy producers through his rhetoric and policies,” the Texas representative added. “Now he’s fist bumping Saudi royals. Despicable.”

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw said in response to Rep. Schiff, “Maybe we wouldn’t need to depend on foreign autocracies so much for oil if dems allowed us to be energy independent again.”

“The Saudi crown prince got a fist bump from Joe Biden. 11,000 Keystone XL workers got pink slips from Joe Biden,” Republican Texas Rep. Lance Gooden said.

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“The fist bump between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman was worse than a handshake — it was shameful. It projected a level of intimacy and comfort that delivers to MBS the unwarranted redemption he has been desperately seeking,” Washington Post publisher and CEO Fred Ryan said.

“For the past six months, the US and Biden have (rightly) condemned Putin and Russia over human rights, autocracy, and an illegal war. Those condemnations, though, ring pretty hollow today. The world is watching the double standards of American foreign policy on full display,” MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan said.

CNN reported.

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Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, hit back at Joe Biden after the US President confronted him about the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a meeting between the two leaders on Friday, according to a source familiar with the matter.

In the meeting, Bin Salman, also known as MBS, denied responsibility for the killing of Khashoggi at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate. Biden said he indicated that he disagreed with MBS, based on US intelligence assessments, according to the source.

“With respect to the murder of Khashoggi, I raised it at the top of the meeting, making it clear what I thought of it at the time and what I think of it now,” Biden said. “I was straightforward and direct in discussing it. I made my view crystal clear.”

“We investigated, punished, and ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said. “This is what countries do. This is what the US did when the mistake of Abu Ghraib was committed.”

“Those responsible (for Khashoggi’s murder) have been investigated and faced the law and are paying the price for their crime,” he said. “The conversation moved on in terms of the official discussion.”

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