President-elect Joe Biden pledged during his campaign to make Saudi Arabia’ leaders the "pariah that they are" and to demand accountability over the October 2018 murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, which, according to the CIA, was ordered by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known by his acronym MBS. 

Still, many Saudis give little importance to such statements. “Even my father, who is in his late 70s, once told me this is 'election talk,'” said Eyad Alrefai, a Saudi doctoral candidate in politics and international relations at Lancaster University. 

The Saudi leadership waited more than 24 hours to congratulate Biden after the election was called for him, unlike other Gulf officials, and some analysts said the delay could be interpreted as a political signal. “Saudis are sensitive that Biden used strong words directly against MBS and the king, so while they want to mend they want to do so while preserving face and pride,” Cinzia Bianco, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Al-Monitor.

At the time of publication, President Donald Trump had not yet conceded defeat.