Latest news with #BidenVisit
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Hollywood star divides fans as he poses with Joe Biden and controversial son Hunter after slamming Trump
Alan Ritchson - star of the hit series Reacher - gushed about a surprise visit on set from former President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. The actor, who has over 4.2 million followers on Instagram, shared a reel consisting of photos and clips from the presidential visit. Alan gushed about the Biden in his caption, writing: 'So our Reacher set got in the way of these legends.' The actor, who is a devout Christian, slammed current President Donald Trump last year during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Alan, 42, called Trump a 'rapist and con man,' and took a swipe at Christians who support him. Alan Ritchson - star of the hit series Reacher - gushed about a surprise visit on set from former President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden In Alan's post, he explained how honored he felt meeting Joe and Hunter. He wrote: 'Was a privilege and honor to meet the Biden family. They couldn't have been more lovely. Kind, joyful, gracious and present.' Adding: 'We chatted briefly about simple stuff, like string theory and quantum entanglement. Then Joe beat me at arm wrestling. All in a day's work.' The Bidens dined at Parc restaurant in Philadelphia while Reacher was filming nearby, according to CBS Philadelphia. Alan was filming a scene outside that involved a police chase when Joe and Hunter got out of a SUV. 'Out walked these men that I thought were actors but then the entire cast and crew started clapping and cheering. Then someone said, "We love you, Joe, we love you!"' the eyewitness told CBS Philadelphia. 'I thought it was the end of the scene - that they were wrapping for the day. And no, it was you know Joe Biden decided he needed some breakfast at Parc Rittenhouse,' the source told the outlet. The source said they were inside the restaurant for about an hour then came and met with the actors and crew members as well as residents. In April 2024, Alan spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his religion and how the religion has changed in his opinion. 'I'm a Christian quite simply because of what Jesus calls us to do. Love other people until death. It doesn't mean we're all to be hung on a cross, but how can I suffer for you? That is a beautiful thing,' he said to the outlet. He called Christians the 'most vitriolic tribe' and noted that 'it is so antithetical to what Jesus was calling us to be and to do.' His show Reacher has been dubbed an anti-woke series - but the actor has very strong feelings about Trump. Alan plays Jack Reacher in the series, which is based on the Jack Reacher book series by Lee Child. 'Trump is a rapist and a con man. And yet the entire Christian church seems to treat him like he's their poster child and it's unreal. I don't understand it,' Alan said. On the state of the Catholic church: 'It's worth saying that the atrocities that are happening in the church that are being actively covered up, even to this day with people not being held accountable, is repulsive. I can't for one second support the Catholic Church while there are still cardinals, bishops and priests being passed around with known pedophilic tendencies.' Alan stars in action series Reacher, based on the Jack Reacher book series Fans were divided in the comments section of Alan's reel, with some surprised at his political stance Fans were divided in the comments section of Alan's reel, with some surprised at his political stance. Others simply found joy in how it was make pro-Trump fans react, while many just thought it was an amazing experience to meet a president. Many applauded him on being a 'true Christian,' and calling the moment as 'awesome.' In February 2025, Alan revealed he and Matt Gaetz were 'adversaries,' and said it began back in their school days. He spoke out his relationship with the former Congressman to GQ magazine, calling him 'that motherf****r.' 'We are adversaries. He's just not a good dude. It's shocking to me that the panhandle of Florida continues to vote for somebody - knowing everything we know about him.' Gaetz was a member of Congress and was Trump's choice for Attorney General, but he pulled his own name out of contention after allegations he had a threesome with a minor. He has maintained his innocence.
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The Independent
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
‘What ever happened to Never Forget?': 9/11 families blast Trump for warm embrace of Saudi officials
When then-U.S. President Joe Biden visited Saudi Arabia in July 2022, hoping to 'reset' relations with the kingdom and its rulers, commentators condemned the trip itself as 'an act of weakness,' 'political cowardice,' and a 'capitulation' to a murderous autocrat in the wake of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing and dismemberment four years earlier, and the September 11 terrorist attacks before that. Fifteen of the 19 Al Qaeda operatives who carried out the attacks were Saudis, and although the Saudi Arabian government has long denied any direct role in 9/11, some evidence suggests that Saudi Arabia was not only the primary source of funding for the attackers, but that the Saudi regime knew about the plot that killed more than 3,000 people and did nothing to stop it. After Biden arrived, he greeted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud – or, 'MBS,' for short – who is said to have approved Khashoggi's execution, with a friendly smile and a fist bump, drawing outrage. When Donald Trump, the current occupant of the Oval Office, jetted off to Saudi Arabia earlier this week, he went far beyond Biden's comparatively muted pleasantries. If MBS still craves validation, the 47th president delivered – despite once having blamed the kingdom entirely for 9/11. 'What a great place, but more importantly, what great people,' Trump marveled in Riyadh. 'I want to thank his royal highness, the crown prince, for that incredible introduction. He's an incredible man. I've known him a long time now. There's nobody like him.' The compliments and extravagant amiability didn't sit well with some. One 9/11 widow told The Independent that it was painful to watch Trump's glad-handing with the leader of the nation she blames for her husband's death, asking, 'Haven't we been through enough?' Or, as a retired firefighter who was at the World Trade Center on September 11 said, 'What ever happened to 'Never Forget?'' The apparently awed president was treated to an over-the-top reception during his Middle East visit featuring, among other things, a squadron of jet fighters that escorted Air Force One in for a landing, an honor guard brandishing golden sword and a coterie of Arabian horses to accompany his motorcade. 'He's your greatest representative, greatest representative,' Trump said of MBS. 'And if I didn't like him, I'd get out of here so fast. You know that, don't you? He knows me well. I do – I like him a lot. I like him too much. That's why we give so much, you know? Too much. I like you too much.' Trump, who announced a $600 billion investment package with the kingdom, continued to lavish praise onto his young host, spotlighting MBS's economic record while addressing him like a lifelong pal: 'Mohammed… [c]ritics doubted that it was possible, what you've done, but over the past eight years, Saudi Arabia has proved the critics totally wrong.' Unlike Trump, many family members of those who died on 9/11, along with first-responders who tried to save them, are less enamored of MBS. Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was on the 104th floor of the WTC's North Tower when the first plane hit, is the national chair of 9/11 Families United. Among other things, she continues to slam Trump for taking 'blood money' from LIV Golf, a professional league backed by the Saudi government's sovereign wealth fund, by hosting tournaments at his Bedminster, New Jersey country club. On Wednesday, Strada described Trump's behavior in Riyadh as 'appalling.' 'I've heard from a lot of [9/11] family members, and it really saddens me to hear how painful it was to watch all of this,' Strada told The Independent. '... We cannot overlook [everything] just because we're going to begin a new chapter of commerce. The truth needs to still be told.' Strada worries that Trump will now abandon his past promises to declassify the remaining intelligence materials that she and others see as the key to proving, once and for all, Saudi complicity in 9/11. 'It is a national security risk to bury the truth,' she said. 'He's hurting a whole population of people who have been through hell. Haven't we been through enough?' The White House did not provide a comment about the families concerns in time for this report. New York City firefighter Adam Lake was at Ground Zero on September 11, searching for survivors, then searching 'The Pile' for bodies. He was later forced to retire after being diagnosed with a 9/11-related cancer that he continues to battle. Lake, whose SoHo firehouse lost 11 men in the World Trade Center attack, told The Independent, 'Really, this guy's not for anybody but himself… What ever happened to 'Never Forget?' F*** you, you know?' Saudi Arabia 'masterminded and funded the worst attack on American soil, ever,' Lake emphasized, saying, 'If you worked that day, you remember what you went through… well, [how do you feel] when the president is in bed with the people that attacked us?' There are multiple Trump supporters among Lake's ex-colleagues, and Lake wonders how they will reconcile the president's stance. 'I'm just a guy who lost a ton of people [on 9/11] and was [medically] retired from a job I wanted to keep doing,' he said. As Robert Kobus talked about his 36 year-old sister Deborah, who on 9/11 died on 'the impact floor' of Two World Trade Center, his voice caught frequently and he paused several times to compose himself. 'It was just terrible, that day,' Kobus told The Independent. However, Kobus, a former FBI civilian employee who was forced out of the bureau after 35 years for blowing the whistle on alleged time-card fraud, said his anger at Saudi officialdom of a quarter-century ago outweighs whatever he may feel about Trump or the prince. 'At that time, there were some very bad people in the Saudi government,' Kobus said. 'Should we despise the current leaders of Saudi Arabia for what happened 20-something years ago? No. If they made business deals, whatever. I'm not going to disparage the president, I'm going to talk about Saudi Arabia and their complicity 25 years ago.' To that end, Kobus thinks the U.S. government's still-secret evidence will reveal Saudi responsibility. 'You can't hide the truth,' he asserted. 'The truth will never be hidden, no matter how much they try.' Kristen Breitweiser is a World Trade Center widow-turned-activist who successfully pushed for the formation of the 9/11 Commission but later found its final report to be 'utterly hollow.' She said she considers herself 'pragmatic' about resolving the issue once and for all, and distanced herself from Strada's organization. Breitweiser's focus at this stage is fixed on the alleged shortcomings of the U.S. intelligence community vis-a-vis 9/11, as opposed to Saudi Arabian culpability. She said that 9/11 widows and children have not received appropriate compensation from the government, nor have they 'been provided any modicum of justice.' 'I don't think President Trump is inclined to hold the kingdom accountable, I don't know if we have the evidence to hold the kingdom accountable, I don't know if we have the will as a country to hold the kingdom accountable,' Breitweiser told The Independent. Breitweiser said she 'did not look to the kingdom to protect my husband that day,' but rather, to the FBI, CIA and other domestic agencies charged with protecting the nation. She would like to know 'why this country is not demanding accountability and justice from our own government before we start looking overseas.' 'We have more evidence to support holding the U.S. intelligence apparatus accountable than we do the kingdom,' Breitweiser asserted. 'I'm not saying the kingdom didn't have anything to do with 9/11, but our intelligence community does not have clean hands with regard to their failure to prevent the attacks.' The U.S. government has an obligation to compensate those who lost loved ones on 9/11 with payments 'in alignment with what other victims have received in the past,' according to Breitweiser. 'Let's start the accountability there.' 'I recognize that what I'm saying is the proverbial 3rd rail,' Breitweiser concluded. 'But I don't care. I just want justice for my murdered husband.'
New York Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Live Updates: Trump Gets Lavish Welcome in Saudi Arabia as He Kicks Off Gulf Tour
From left, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Melania Trump and President Trump in Riyadh in 2017. American presidents have been visiting Saudi Arabia for decades, and the trips have often produced memorable moments — some dramatic, others downright odd. As President Trump returns to Saudi Arabia, here is a look back at four moments from past presidential trips to visit leaders of the oil-rich Gulf state. 2022: The Biden Fist Bump The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia appeared to be wilting before President Joseph R. Biden Jr. visited Jeddah in 2022. Mr. Biden, as a candidate in 2019, had vowed to turn Saudi Arabia into a 'pariah' over the killing of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the C.I.A. said had been ordered by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. But as Mr. Biden worked in 2022 to manage oil prices, which spiked after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the president took a different tack. Arriving at the Royal Palace, Mr. Biden, grinning slightly, gave the crown prince a fist bump as a bank of cameras rolled. The Saudi government quickly posted an image of the fist bump on social media. Mr. Biden later told reporters that he had privately confronted Prince Mohammed about the killing, and that the prince 'basically said that he was not personally responsible for it.' Back in Washington, Mr. Biden became impatient when pressed on the fist bump. 'Why don't you guys talk about something that matters?' he chided a reporter. Within months, Mr. Biden acknowledged that the trip had not produced the surge in Saudi oil production that he had sought. 2017: Trump and the Orb It looked like something from a children's movie. During a visit to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, early in his first term, Mr. Trump found himself laying hands on a glowing white orb. Beside him, King Salman of Saudi Arabia and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt also placed their hands on the sphere. An image of the men touching the orb — with the first lady, Melania Trump, looking on — circulated widely on social media, with memes multiplying in short order. One meme likened the image to that of Saruman, the 'Lord of the Rings' villain, tapping into a seeing stone. But the orb in Riyadh was not, it turned out, magical. The sphere was a translucent globe, apparently decorative, at a facility filled with computer terminals and devoted to combating extremist ideology. 1974: Nixon Says, 'We Need Wisdom' President Richard M. Nixon met a warm reception in Jeddah during a five-nation sweep through the Middle East in the spring of 1974. Nixon arrived hoping to encourage the country to help reduce oil prices, according to passages of his memoirs published by the Richard Nixon Foundation. But he also came with another goal — pushing Saudi Arabia to use its considerable regional influence to push for peace in the Middle East. In remarks at the State Palace, he emphasized to his hosts that he did not come just to win cheaper oil. 'We can use oil, but we need more, something far more than oil,' the president said. 'We need wisdom.' 1945: Roosevelt Gives a Wheelchair Though he did not travel to Saudi soil, President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz al-Saud, on a U.S. warship in the Great Bitter Lake, part of the Suez Canal in Egypt. Roosevelt charmed the king, who struggled to walk, by presenting him with the gift of a wheelchair.
