‘I Wouldn’t Do It’: Swalwell Condemns Biden’s Meeting with ‘Unscrupulous Actor’ Saudi Arabian Crown Prince

President Joe Biden should not be meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his planned visit to Saudi Arabia next month, fellow Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) says.

Biden’s trip has become increasingly controversial, even with members of his own party, Swalwell being the latest to publicly critique the trip. Biden is visiting Saudi Arabia partly to push for more oil production amidst rising prices across the globe.

Biden previously stated while running for president that Saudi Arabia should be treated as a “pariah” over the crown price ordering the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Swalwell has similarly condemned the nation and pushed for the U.S. to cut ties in the past, something he was asked about Monday on CNN by Victor Blackwell.

Swalwell’s response:

I don’t like it. I wouldn’t do it if I was president. But I respect that we’re in a global inflation, energy prices are soaring worldwide, and the Saudis control a lot of the oil and he has to do what’s best for the American people and our allies in Europe. I think he can do that without meeting with the crown prince, but I’ll leave it to President Biden.

The Democrat reiterated that he does not like the planned trip and used the efforts by the U.S. and other nations in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion to argue meeting with someone like the crown prince is not “American exceptionalism.”

I don’t like it and I think American exceptionalism was on display when Vladimir Putin went into Ukraine and we stitched together an alliance of not just Europe and NATO, but Japan, Australia and others to push back on Russia. So I think relying on our good-faith alliance, people who are honorable and show moral integrity, is more important to take on this crisis than an unscrupulous actor like the crown prince.

Biden has downplayed bin Salman’s involvement in his trip, saying a much larger meeting on oil production will “include” the crown prince. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said over the weekend, however, that Biden and bin Salman will meet privately. According to CNN, that statement was denied by a National Security Council spokesperson who reiterated Biden would be having a larger meeting that includes the crown prince.

Watch above via CNN.