‘DON’T SEE OUR BENEFIT’

Fox Host Rips Trump’s ‘Bad Trend’ Saudi Nuclear Deal

Why not make a deal similar to one signed during the Obama administration, he wondered.

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade is no fan of Donald Trump’s nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia.

The Fox and Friends co-host reacted Thursday to the deal, which would clear the way for the Middle East country to develop a civilian nuclear program. The terms of the deal have not been made public, and Trump, 80, added after the initial announcement that the sale of nuclear reactors is contingent on Saudi Arabia normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel.

DON-PROLIFERATION

Trump’s Bizarre Secret Nuclear Giveaway Is Leaked

Will Neal

Regardless of that aspect of the deal, Kilmeade had concerns, citing future Saudi Arabian leaders.

“Look, [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] seems to have emerged as somebody we can trust. I don’t know who’s next. His rise was very unlikely. If you told people that this guy, this unknown prince, was going to rise and be the progressive, the open thinker that he is, and move that country in a way nobody thought possible—caught us by surprise," Kilmeade, 62, began.

“I worry about some people that want to bring Saudi Arabia back. President Trump’s out of office, four, five years later, there’s a new guy in charge, and he agrees more with the Wahhabism and the [Osama] bin Laden that they got rid of,” Kilmeade continued.

“I love the progress Saudi Arabia has made. But I don’t see our benefit to letting them enrich. I think it’s a bad trend,” he said.

Instead, Kilmeade suggested that the U.S. should arrange something like its 2009 nuclear agreement with the United Arab Emirates, which has been referred to as the “gold standard” for nuclear deals.

“My feeling is, why don’t we just do what UAE did? It’s worked,” the Fox host said. “Saudi Arabia doesn’t want a nuclear weapon. They said, ‘We’ll only get it if Iran gets it.’ So maybe they only get that ability if Iran gets a nuclear weapon. And maybe that helps other people step in and say, ‘We don’t want Iran to have a nuclear weapon.’”

Less than an hour after Kilmeade criticized the plan, Trump, a frequent Fox News watcher, went on Truth Social to add in his condition that Saudi Arabia recognize Israel.

FLIP, BUT ALSO FLOP

Trump Nukes His Own Deal Before the Ink Is Even Dry

Will Neal

“The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the United States Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” Trump wrote. “The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Play Video

When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly referred the Daily Beast to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s comments during Thursday’s briefing, without going into any detail.

In addition to Kilmeade, the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal criticized Trump’s deal.

“The U.S. needs Arab allies, and it has much to offer oil-rich Saudi Arabia as it diversifies its economy,” the board wrote. “But the Saudis don’t need a path to a nuclear bomb to match Iran. Mr. Trump and the U.S. military have been making sure of that. Why undermine that success now?”

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

William VaillancourtReporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.