Jeddah - (AFP) - US President Joe Biden shook the image of the defender of democracy and basic rights that he tried hard to paint for himself, during the less than twenty-four hours he spent in Saudi Arabia.

The promises made by each politician outline the features of his path to power and backfire on him later, when compared to the facts.

For the 79-year-old US president, it is about his campaign pledge to treat Saudi Arabia as a "pariah". The announcement he made on July 4, 2021, also appears about the standing of the United States in the international arena. "We lead by example, not by our strength," he said at the time. "We are part of something much greater than ourselves. We stand as a beacon to the world."

How can these words be reconciled with the coverage of the American press on Saturday, at a time when Biden was concluding a quick visit to the oil-rich kingdom?

Many newspapers wore the same image: "the fist of the hand", that is, Joe Biden's greeting to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from one fist to the other, upon his reception at the royal palace in Jeddah.

He is the same man whom the United States, at the behest of Joe Biden, designated as a sponsor of the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

- Spacing -

The White House sought to demine a meeting it knew was explosive. The Washington Post, in which Jamal Khashoggi was writing articles opposing the kingdom before his death, published an article by the president talking about his trip.

At the start of his first tour of the Middle East, which took him to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Saudi Arabia, the media team made it clear that Biden would take additional health precautions due to COVID-19. Journalists immediately suspected that he wanted to avoid shaking hands with the real strongman in the kingdom.

The president did not abide by these instructions during his friendly visit to the Jewish state, where he multiplied handshakes and hugs. But in Jeddah, he preferred peace with a fist, on the grounds that this would be safer than the virus, but it did not immunize Biden from the media storm.

Fred Ryan, executive director of The Washington Post, called it "worse than a handshake." "He demonstrated a sense of intimacy and comfort that gives Mohammed bin Salman the unconditional rehabilitation he craves," he said in a statement.

The journalists in Biden's delegation did not see the scene, and when they arrived at the gates of the Saudi palace, the US president had entered. However, the official Saudi media quickly broadcast this photo, which instantly went viral, and other photos of the two men followed.

Likewise, the accredited journalists at the White House, who were present in a small room in the palace, were only able to attend one meeting of the American and Saudi delegations on Friday, where the president and his host made brief statements.

It was impossible to hear what they were saying, especially since the reporters, who were far from the large meeting table, were not allowed to hold microphones traditionally used on television and radio to better capture voices.

After that, the American team hastily organized a press briefing.

- 'A drop of oil' -

Joe Biden, who seemed nervous, said that he brought up the assassination issue "at the beginning" of his meeting with the crown prince, telling him "clearly what I was thinking at the time and what I'm thinking about now."

And on Saturday, the US president, who seeks to portray himself as the leader of the battle of democracies in the face of authoritarian regimes, announced, during a meeting with Mohammed bin Salman and Arab leaders, that “the future belongs to countries (...) whose citizens can question and criticize their leaders without fear of reprisals.” ".

And in Israel, Biden stressed, "I never remain silent when it comes to talking about human rights. The reason behind my coming to Saudi Arabia is much broader. It is to advance the interests of the United States."

This means renewing relations with a longtime strategic ally of Washington, a major consumer of arms and an indispensable supplier of oil.

Joe Biden needs more abundant oil production in order to reduce high fuel prices, which may affect the position of his Democratic Party in the upcoming legislative elections in November.

"Tyrants are smiling. Biden's support for human rights can be sold for a drop of oil," Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, wrote on Twitter Saturday.

For her part, Yasmine Farouk of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace considered during a recent discussion that "if there is a country that can extract progress from Saudi Arabia in the field of human rights, it is the United States. (...) If they decide that there are great risks, or It will take a long time to talk to the Saudis about values and human rights, no one else will."