Trump mocks Biden’s fist bump with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince as he goes in for tight handshake

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Tuesday, November 18, shook hands with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, at the White House in a warm welcome and took a jab at former President Joe Biden, who was criticized for fist-bumping the Saudi prince back in 2022.

Biden’s fist bump took place during a visit to Saudi Arabia in July 2022 and was criticized due to US intelligence reports indicating that bin Salman signed off on the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Donald Trump says 'I don't give a hell where that hand’s been'

President Trump made sure that the Saudi Crown Prince got a more formal greeting during his White House visit on Tuesday.

The POTUS told reporters, "And Trump doesn't give a fist pump. I grab that hand. I don't give a hell where that hand’s been, I grab that hand."

Taking a jab at the former president, he said, "Remember Biden? He travels for 20 hours, he gets out, and he gives a fist bump. No. When you get out of the plane and you got the future king and the man who is one of the most respected people in the world, you shake his hand, you don't give him a fist bump, right?" 

"We don't want to ask you about that, but I can't imagine you were thrilled," Trump said, referencing Mohammed bin Salman.

Trump welcomed the Saudi Prince on Tuesday as a red carpet rolled across the South Lawn, along with a military honor guard and an Air Force flyover underscored the formal state-level welcome.

Meanwhile, Biden’s fist bump with bin Salman in 2022 took place as he stepped out of a vehicle outside the Al Salam Royal Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Biden later brushed off questions about the interaction from reporters, telling them he suggested to bin Salman that he believed the crown prince was "responsible" for Khashoggi’s death.

Interestingly, the exchange made former Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan characterize the gesture as more offensive than a handshake.

Ryan said in a statement, "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."

Meanwhile, in 2023, Biden shook hands with bin Salman when they met in person at the G20 global economic summit in New Delhi, India.

Trump and Saudi Crown Prince announce $1 trillion in US investments

Saudi Crown Prince has raised Saudi Arabia’s planned investment in the US to almost $1 trillion, up from an earlier figure of about $600 billion, during his meeting with President Trump at the White House.

"Today and tomorrow, we are going to announce that we are going to increase that, that $600 billion to almost $1 trillion of investment, real investment and real opportunity in many areas," Mohammed Bin Salman said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Trump celebrated the scale of the commitment and said, "We’re doing numbers that nobody’s ever done." 

"You know, that’s great. I appreciate that. That’s great. That means investments in plants, in companies, money on Wall Street. And what it really means for everybody, what really counts is jobs. A lot of jobs. We have a lot of jobs," the POTUS added.

Moreover, Trump noted that the investment was a reflection of the state of the US economy under his leadership.

"In all fairness, if you didn’t see potential in the US, you wouldn’t be doing it. You don’t want to lose money," the President said.

The Saudi Crown Prince also told the POTUS that the US is the "hottest country on the planet" for foreign investment.

"What you’re creating is not about an opportunity today. It’s also about long-term opportunity," bin Salman said.