At the State Department, Sometimes Silence Speaks Volumes

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The State Department held a briefing today. Dave Clark, a reporter for Agence France Presse, asked acting assistant secretary Stuart Jones a pointed question about President Trump criticizing Iranian democracy while standing next to officials of Saudi Arabia—not exactly a beacon of democracy itself. “How do you characterize Saudi Arabia’s commitment to democracy?” he asked. Is democracy a barrier against extremism? Here’s the reply:

This is being characterized as a 20-second silence, but in fairness I think it was more like 19 seconds. That kind of exaggeration is typical of the fake news media.