Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that she thought President Joe Biden will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the president’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia.
Anchor Dana Bash said, “President Biden will visit Saudi Arabia next month to talk about this. On Friday, he said, quote, ‘I’m not going to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. I’m going to an international meeting, and he’s going to be part of it.’ Is he going to meet with the Saudi crown prince?
Granholm said, “He’s going for the purpose of this international conference. I think he will meet with the Saudi crown prince. He has asked for all suppliers around the globe to increase production. That includes OPEC. That includes our domestic oil and gas producers. He’s asking for an increase, like other leaders around the globe are.”
Bash said, “So, they will have a one-on-one meeting.”
Granholm said, “That’s my understanding, that he will be meeting. But there’s a series of meetings around energy overall. The Saudis are very interested, for example, in developing an expertise around hydrogen, clean hydrogen production. So I think there’s a series of topics related to energy on the table.”
Bash said, “Can you explain why, to the American people, why it is appropriate for a U.S. president to meet with a dictator who murdered and chopped up a journalist, to do that when it comes to human rights, given what he has said before about it?
Granholm said, “Yeah, obviously, the president is a strong believer in human rights.”
Bash said, “To be clear, he didn’t do the murder. He ordered it.”
Granholm said, “Of course. I totally understand that. The president is very concerned about that. I’m sure will raise that issue. But he’s also very concerned about what people are experiencing at the pump. Saudi Arabia is head of OPEC. We need to have increased production so that everyday citizens in America will not be feeling this pain that they’re feeling right now. So, all around the world, he is asking for people to increase production.”
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