National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby laughed off the suggestion that anyone in Saudi Arabia would have intentionally exposed President Joe Biden to COVID — which he contracted shortly after returning to the White House from his recent Middle Eastern jaunt.
New York Post reporter Steven Nelson put the question to Kirby during a Wednesday briefing, noting that the president had begun to show symptoms of the virus just a few days after returning from his trip, where he met first with Israeli officials and then with several officials in Saudi Arabia.
REPORTER: "Has the US government ruled out the possibility that the Saudi government deliberately exposed the president to the coronavirus?"
KIRBY: "The idea that a foreign nation state would deliberately try to infect POTUS with a virus is just ludicrous." pic.twitter.com/eAViKxDXB5
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 27, 2022
“President Biden may have begun to have symptoms about four days after returning from Saudi Arabia,” one reporter began. “Has the U.S. government ruled out the possibility that the Saudi government may have deliberately exposed the president to the coronavirus?”
“I think I should refer to Karine on that question, in terms of talking about the president’s medical condition, that’s out of my scope,” Kirby replied, indicating White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre.
“But — but — but — I — I don’t know where this idea is coming from,” Kirby continued. “I don’t know what prompted you to ask it that way. But the idea that a foreign nation state would deliberately try to infect the President of the United States with a virus is just ludicrous. Just absolutely ludicrous, there’s nothing to it and it should be treated as the ridiculous idea that it is.”
Retired Marine Corps bomb tech and Fox News regular Joey Jones wasn’t certain he bought Kirby’s protestation, however. “No way the country that aided the 9/11 hijackers could’ve done such a thing … just no way!”
No way the country that aided the 9/11 hijackers could’ve done such a thing… just now way! https://t.co/Ki55ZTtImL
— Joey Jones (@Johnny_Joey) July 27, 2022
Marine Corps veteran Dave Ross appeared to agree.
https://t.co/cU2zxmm4LE pic.twitter.com/X3FVS9aR7H
— Dave Ross (@drosssports) July 27, 2022
Author and journalist Sophia Nelson pointed to the gruesome murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 — and noted that until that happened and United States intelligence sources revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had likely directed the murder, people might have believed something like that to be ludicrous as well.
“Hmmmmm so is the idea that they would use a bone saw to dismember a US journalist. Just sayin,” Nelson tweeted.
Hmmmmm so is the idea that they would use a bone saw to dismember a US journalist. Just sayin. https://t.co/vzO5in7XT2
— Sophia A. Nelson (@IAmSophiaNelson) July 27, 2022
Biden, who reportedly met with Saudi officials in an effort to convince them to produce more oil and relieve some of the pain at the pump for consumers, claimed he challenged Bin Salman regarding Khashoggi’s murder — but Saudi officials have since disputed the claim.