On the campaign trail in 2019, President Joe Biden wrongly called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” and vowed to make the kingdom “pay the price.” Referencing the Saudi royal family specifically, he said there is “very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia.”

Biden’s comments were flat-out wrong and sent a terrible message to the world. The grave consequences of these missteps included emboldening Iranian-backed proxy groups to sow chaos in the region and strengthening Russia and China’s ties to the region.