Trump's Palling Around With The Saudis Makes Comedians Like Bill Burr Look Even Worse
Upon the arrival of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House, President Donald Trump decried butchered journalist Jamal Khashoggi as “extremely controversial” – I mean, did the murdered dissident ever even report that there’s a Chili’s in Riyadh?Earlier this year, numerous A-list American comedians (and Chris Distefano) learned that, unlike American politicians, the American public isn’t too keen on the Saudi Royal Family or any public figures who play nice with them. Between supporting the 9/11 hijackers, ordering the torture, murder and dismemberment of Khashoggi and turning their country into the slavery capital of the world, the Saudi Royals have earned their reputation for being the most despicable, bloodthirsty billionaires on the planet – but, hey, at least they’re comedy fans.Now, almost two months following the state-funded and state-run Riyadh Comedy Festival, the Saudi Crown Prince is in Washington, D.C., where President Trump extended a royal welcome to the despot whose family can count both Omar al-Bayoumi and Bill Burr on their payroll.
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Earlier today, when American journalists pushed Trump and the Crown Prince on the latter's record on human rights, specifically in how he arranged the brutal slaying of Khashoggi, Trump defended the White House’s distinguished guest, striking back at critics with all the fervor of Burr ranting about bots on Conan's podcast.When asked about the late Washington Post journalist Khashoggi, whose grisly 2018 murder in Istanbul, Turkey made international headlines, Trump shot back at the press, “You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you liked him or didn’t like him, things happen.”
And, even though the CIA, the Turkish government and The New York Times all concluded that bin Salman orchestrated the killing of one of his most prominent critics, Trump denied his guest's culpability in Khashoggi's assassination, saying of the Crown Prince, “He knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.” While many of Americans are now in uproar over Trump's sick comments about Khashoggi and his embrace of him, predictably, the Riyadh Comedy Festival lineup remains silent on the issue. Despite how numerous headliners from the Saudi Royal Family's comedy showcase have fashioned themselves to be astute political commentators – Burr, Andrew Schulz and Dave Chappelle stand out as the worst offenders – you'll probably never catch one of them criticizing Trump for buddying up with the Crown Prince or desecrating Khashoggi's memory.
The Executive Branch has a long history of playing nice with the Saudi Royal Family, and you can't exactly blame the Riyadh Comedy Festival participants for Trump predictably throwing Khashoggi under the bus to appease a tyrant with whom his family has close and lucrative business ties. However, Trump's completely-in-character condemnation of Khashoggi highlights how morally bankrupt you have to be to take money from the Saudi Royal Family and publicly defend their reputation.Put simply, no matter how much Burr or his buddies may condemn Trump's callous greed, his open corruption and his complete disregard for human life, at the end of the day, they're all kissing the same ring, and the same name goes on everyone's checks.
