RIYADH (Dispatches) – U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, condemned Saudi Arabia’s regime during a town hall meeting, calling the regime’s leaders "murderous thugs”.
"For years, we have loved Saudi Arabia - our wonderful ally; the only problem is the people who run that country are murderous thugs,” Sanders said, according to Middle East Eye.
The Vermont senator described Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman as a "billionaire dictator”.
The senator also reiterated his stance that the U.S. should not ignore the needs of Palestinians and blasted the "right-wing racist government that currently exists in Israel”.
He also pointed to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Sanders made similar remarks during a presidential debate in December, when he called Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "racist” and said U.S. foreign policy cannot be only pro-Zionist, but must be "pro-Palestinian” as well.
Sanders has also been a relentless critic of President Donald Trump, repeatedly calling him a liar and the "most dangerous president” in U.S. history.
The senator has jumped out to a double-digit lead over his closest rivals in the Democratic presidential contest, while former U.S. Vice President and previous front-runner Joe Biden has seen his support drop by 11 points, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday.
The survey also shows former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg gaining ground in the Democratic race in the past month.