Well, this is convenient. . .
The Jerusalem Post is reporting that President Joe Biden won’t be shaking hands on his upcoming trip to the Middle East due to Covid:
Biden won't be shaking hands in Israel due to COVID surge – The Jerusalem Post https://t.co/YEuvGIFOW0
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) July 12, 2022
From The Jerusalem Post:
The White House has reportedly told Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office that due to the surge in COVID-19 infections in the US and Israel, the president will refrain from shaking hands.
We suspect there will be plenty of photos of our elderly president leaning in close to talk with leaders, ministers, etc. which has us wondering if there’s *another* reason for the Covid handshake theater:
There are surely a number of Israeli ministers, MKs and dignitaries who were looking forward this week to shaking hands with the President of the United States during his visit to Jerusalem. https://t.co/sylwHFGi8u
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) July 11, 2022
Yep. Multiple blue-checks and many others think this is a way to avoid a photo of President Biden shaking hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman:
One way to avoid that embarrassing photo-op with MBS.https://t.co/ISjKE7Piqq
— Bobby Ghosh (@ghoshworld) July 12, 2022
Recommended
That’s one way to avoid *the* handshake photo later in Saudi Arabia https://t.co/cWe2z4E84Z
— Alex Ward (@alexbward) July 12, 2022
Seems like this would be a convenient excuse to avoid photos of a handshake with a certain someone in Jeddah https://t.co/A3aNq00aaH
— Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom) July 12, 2022
Well, “convenient” is one way to describe it.
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Related:
‘Pathetic’: Biden might head to Saudi Arabia to issue a personal plea to pump more oil
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