RIYADH (AFP) — A
prominent Saudi television network has racked up millions of views with a
comedy sketch that openly mocks US President Joe Biden, an unusual move that
further signals souring ties.
اضافة اعلان
The sketch aired
this week by MBC, the biggest pan-Arab entertainment network, shows Biden,
played by comedian Khaled Al-Faraj, falling asleep at a podium twice in under a
minute while straining to deliver a “stern message” to Russian President
Vladimir Putin concerning the war in Ukraine.
Faraj’s Biden is then dragged away by an actor
playing Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he erroneously addresses as “first
lady”.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the clip had been viewed
at least 7 million times on Twitter alone, spurring comments from social media
users in both countries.
The network generally airs views in line with those
of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
MBC’s chairman, Waleed al-Ibrahim, was detained with
other elite businessmen at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel in a 2017
anti-corruption drive, though he was released the following January.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed a widening
split between Washington and Riyadh, whose close relationship based on the
provision of cheap Saudi oil in exchange for US military protection dates back
to the 1940s.
The kingdom has
resisted US pressure to raise oil output in an attempt to rein in prices that
have spiked since the Ukraine war began.
The two countries’ leaders have not spoken since
Biden took office.
Some Twitter users on Wednesday welcomed the MBC clip
mocking Biden, saying it was long overdue.
“Many American media professionals insulted our
leaders and our country and publicly declared their hostility, while those who
lay prostrate did nothing,” one wrote.
But others downplayed its significance and dismissed
suggestions it would have any meaningful impact on diplomacy.
“There are dozens of programs and scenes in America
that ridicule the American president and other world leaders, including the
heads of Arab countries and the rulers of the Gulf,” wrote Saad al-Hussein, a
professor at King Saud University. “It’s normal.”
The clip has also received attention in US media,
notably on conservative outlets like Fox News and the New York Post newspaper.
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