State Official Awkwardly Pauses For 20 Seconds Before Answering Saudi Arabia Question
- 7 years ago
A State Department official, stumped by a question about Saudi Arabia, extremism, and democracy, paused for nearly 20 seconds before giving his answer.
While in Saudi Arabia, President Trump did not raise human rights concerns, reports VOA.
However, he did condemn Iran, a nation that is somewhat democratic and recently held "free elections," notes Mediaite.
That made for a rather awkward moment back home, which involved a 20-or-so-second pause during a press conference held on Tuesday by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East Affairs Bureau Stuart Jones.
It came after Dave Clark of Agence France-Presse asked Jones, who traveled to Saudi Arabia with Trump, “While you were over there, the Secretary criticized the conduct of the Iranian elections and Iran’s record on democracy. He did so standing next to Saudi officials. How do you characterize Saudi Arabia’s commitment to democracy, and does the administration believe that democracy is a buffer or a barrier against extremism?”
Jones’ response began with “um,” which was followed by another “um.” Then came the pause lasting about 20 seconds.
Jones eventually broke his silence, saying, “I think what we’d say is that at this meeting we were able to make significant progress with Saudi and [Gulf Cooperation Council] partners in both making a strong statement against extremism and also—and also putting in place certain measures through this GCC mechanism where we can combat extremism. Clearly, one source of extremism, one terrorism threat, is coming from Iran, and that’s coming from a part of the Iranian apparatus that is not at all responsive to its electorate.”
While in Saudi Arabia, President Trump did not raise human rights concerns, reports VOA.
However, he did condemn Iran, a nation that is somewhat democratic and recently held "free elections," notes Mediaite.
That made for a rather awkward moment back home, which involved a 20-or-so-second pause during a press conference held on Tuesday by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East Affairs Bureau Stuart Jones.
It came after Dave Clark of Agence France-Presse asked Jones, who traveled to Saudi Arabia with Trump, “While you were over there, the Secretary criticized the conduct of the Iranian elections and Iran’s record on democracy. He did so standing next to Saudi officials. How do you characterize Saudi Arabia’s commitment to democracy, and does the administration believe that democracy is a buffer or a barrier against extremism?”
Jones’ response began with “um,” which was followed by another “um.” Then came the pause lasting about 20 seconds.
Jones eventually broke his silence, saying, “I think what we’d say is that at this meeting we were able to make significant progress with Saudi and [Gulf Cooperation Council] partners in both making a strong statement against extremism and also—and also putting in place certain measures through this GCC mechanism where we can combat extremism. Clearly, one source of extremism, one terrorism threat, is coming from Iran, and that’s coming from a part of the Iranian apparatus that is not at all responsive to its electorate.”