US elections 2020: Does Saudi Arabia prefer Trump victory?

• Media Follow-up Section
• BBC

Arab newspapers discussed the planned US presidential elections after a few days, and the chances of both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden winning.

Kuttab asked about the reasons why Saudi Arabia is “holding its breath” ahead of the US elections and favoring Trump’s victory.

On the other hand, writers pointed to an increase in Biden’s chances of winning this election.

Jalal Jaraghi said in the London newspaper, Rai Al-Youm, that “the announcement of the results of the opinion polls indicating the victory of the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, makes Saudi Arabia hold its breath and feel very anxious about the upcoming developments.”

Jaragi adds that the US elections have become “a preoccupation of Saudi Arabia and its media as it is doing its best to influence Arab voters residing in America to push them towards opinion boxes in favor of President Donald Trump.”

And the writer continues: Saudi Arabia feels these days, and more precisely, its Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, with deep concern and even intense horror about the possibility of the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, winning the American presidential elections. The reason for this is on the one hand due to Biden’s positions on the Middle East region, especially Saudi Arabia, and the possibility of removing Trump’s support for Saudi Arabia and the survival of its crown prince alone in the face of challenges facing the region, endangering his royal seat, which he aspires to.

Marwan Samour points out in the “Algerian Encyclopedia of Political and Strategic Studies” website that Trump is the best candidate for Saudi Arabia.

Samour says, “Trump chose Saudi Arabia as his first stop outside the country after his election, and deals were signed during the visit of nearly $ 460 billion. In addition to Trump’s position in his defense of Saudi Arabia in the file of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”

The writer adds: “The Saudis expect that Biden’s policy will be similar to Obama’s policy, and that US-Saudi relations at the time were tense, as Biden was his deputy.”

Sarah Sharif believes in the Egyptian newspaper, Al-Dustour, that Saudi Arabia has shown agreement with the policies of the Trump administration, specifically with regard to the Middle East, which makes it more likely the Kingdom’s desire to win the elections.

Sarah says: “Saudi Arabia, whose Mossad chief Yossi Cohen is likely to announce the normalization of its relations with Israel soon, and it seems that it is behaving like Oman – without a hurry despite the existence of secret relations with Israel that have been going on for many years – it seems that (Saudi Arabia) prefers to wait for the results of the American elections before To decide its steps. “

The writer adds: “In a way, Saudi Arabia was present behind the scenes in all the previous agreements, as it has given the green light to the Emirates and Bahrain with the aim of forming a political-security bloc against Iran, and to help Trump in the elections, and there are also reports saying that Saudi Arabia is the one behind paying debts. Sudan has been provided to the United States, amounting to more than $ 300 million, as a condition for removing it from the list of countries supporting terrorism, but it also appears that the anticipated step is awaiting the arrangement of a large arms deal from Washington as a condition for the Saudis to accept normalization with Israel.

On the other hand, Abdulaziz Al-Ghoneim Al-Haqbani says in the Saudi newspaper Okaz that “no one has the right to outbid or misrepresent our relations with the United States of America.”

Al-Haqbani continues: “The strange thing is that the Arab left-wing extremists are more interested in the American elections than the Americans themselves, and they support Biden more than the Democrats themselves, and they think that Biden’s victory will make the US-Saudi relations very bad, while Saudi Arabia, through the language of its leaders, confirms the continuation of its historical political relations with whomever the American people choose. Whether he is republican or democrat, conservative or liberal. “

The writer affirms: “Saudi-American relations are strategic and very old, as they were founded by the founding king, may God rest his soul, and Democrat Franklin Roosevelt.”

Likewise, Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman Al-Bishr says in the Saudi newspaper Al-Jazirah: “We will go beyond talking about American policy in the Middle East, to mention that the kingdom’s relations with the United States of America are strategic and solid, and in agreement with most issues, whether the party is in the White House. Republican, or Democratic Party. “

The writer adds, “Both parties know the importance of the Kingdom in the region and the world, its great influence in the field of energy market and the global economy, its impact on the Islamic and Arab world, and its efforts to combat terrorism worldwide.”

Writers favored the possibility of increasing Biden’s chances of winning the election.

Hayel and Daan al-Da’ajah said in the Jordanian newspaper Al-Dustour that American personalities and civil and military institutions “are thinking about rearranging their home and the upcoming US presidential elections, driven by the negative repercussions that President Trump’s policies have left on the American community itself, and formed a common denominator with the international environment, which may enhance The Democratic candidate Biden paper, whose most, if not all, polls and estimates indicate he is ahead of his Republican rival Trump.

Al-Da’jah continues: “Especially since the United States and other countries of the world cannot afford President Trump for a second term in light of the crises and challenges that he imposed on the American and international scenes.”