Wilbur Ross Revels in Protestor-Free Saudi Arabia: ‘Not One Guy With a Bad Placard’
Wilbur Ross touts the lack of protests in Saudi Arabia during Trump’s visit (maybe it’s because protesters are jailed & sometimes beheaded?) pic.twitter.com/DQIENgtopz
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) May 22, 2017
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was delighted by a lack of protestors greeting President Donald Trump and his entourage during their trip to Saudi Arabia.
In an appearance on CNBC, Ross first lauded the authoritarian regime for taking steps towards “liberalizing their society,” and then noted how refreshing it is to be out of the U.S., where Trump often sees protestors on his domestic jaunts.
“I think the other thing that was fascinating to me, there was not a single hint of a protestor anywhere there during the whole time we were there.” Ross said. “Not one guy with a bad placard.”
As many on social media have pointed out, that may have something to do with Saudi Arabia’s track record of jailing and sometimes beheading protestors.
CNBC’s Becky Quick responded that the lack of protestors may have been because the government doesn’t “allow [people] to come and express their feelings.”
“In theory that could be true,” Ross conceded. “But boy, there was certainly no sign of it, there was not a single effort at any incursion.”
“The mood was a genuinely good mood,” Ross said, adding that at the end of the trip he was gifted “two gigantic bushels of dates” from Saudi officials. “It really touched me.”
The Commerce Secretary has made some questionable comments in recent weeks, including describing the bombing of a Syrian airbase as “after-dinner entertainment” at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
[image via screengrab]
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