The Biden administration meant to post a tweet applauding Saudi Arabia on Sept. 10, not Monday, Sept. 11 — the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks — a National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson told the Daily Caller.
The Biden administration came under fire for a Monday tweet from NSC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, who wrote that the Biden administration welcomes Saudi Arabia’s investment in the Partnership for Global Infrastructure, an initiative that helps build economic corridors in developing countries. The tweet was approved to be posted Sept. 10 but was mistakenly delayed and posted Sept. 11, an NSC spokesperson told the Daily Caller on Tuesday. (RELATED: Biden Comms Team Forced To Do Clean Up Yet Again As Unforced Errors Pile Up)
“The tweet was one of a number of social media posts highlighting the announcements that were made at the G20,” the NSC spokesperson told the Caller. “We also tweeted about announcements made by India, the EU and about investments in Africa. The tweet referenced below about Saudi Arabia was approved to be posted on September 10th and should have been posted that day but was delayed in error. Additionally, want to note that we used our social media accounts at the White House and NSC to issue remembrances on 9/11 and to commemorate the day.”
When asked whether the White House was looking into who made the error, an NSC spokesperson told the Daily Caller it was an “honest mistake” and that they were “moving forward from it.”
Prior to the anniversary of 9/11, the president was photographed at the G20 summit in India shaking hands with Saudi Arabian leader Mohammed bin Salman, after Biden previously promised to make the country “the pariahs that they are” while on the campaign trail. Saudi Arabia has long been accused of helping coordinate the 9/11 terrorist attacks, part of which was confirmed through declassified FBI documents, ProPublica reported in April.
“You work for the National ‘Security’ Council and you’re heaping praise on Saudi Arabia on 9/11?!” Curtis Houck, managing editor of Media Busters, tweeted in response to Watson.
US President Joe Biden arrives to deliver remarks to service members, first responders, and their families on the 22nd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on September 11, 2023. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The Biden administration was widely criticized for its additional actions surrounding the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 attacks, including its choice to stop in Anchorage, Alaska, following the G20 summit in India to commemorate the anniversary. The president broke a decades-long tradition of presidents visiting the Washington, D.C., area or the New York City or Somerset County, Pennsylvania, crash sites in honor of the victims of the tragedy.
“It was important for the President to be back in the U.S. for 9/11,” a White House spokesperson told the Daily Caller about the president’s Alaska trip. “He made that clear to trip planners: He needed to be back. He was proud to be able to spend the day with members of the military and their families in Alaska, who are keeping us safe today, just as they did back on that horrible day.”
During his remarks to service members and first responders, Biden claimed he had visited Ground Zero on Sept. 12, 2001. The Daily Caller asked the White House if this was true, and the White House referred to Biden’s visit on Sept. 20, 2001, making no mention of a visit Sept. 12, 2001.
“Senator Biden was ‘in the delegation of Senators that traveled by train to New York to view the rubble left by the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers,’” the White House told the Daily Caller, citing an article from the Associated Press.