Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has traveled around the world to try to reboot his tarnished reputation. He has had some success with other despots but he has become a polarizing figure who is damaging the kingdom’s brand. In the United States, the 75-year-old partnership is under great stress and risks losing its traditional bipartisan support.

The crown prince got an enthusiastic reception at the G-20 summit in Argentina only from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Even Donald Trump, his foremost protector, decided against a one-on-one meeting. Nonetheless the crown prince got the group photo he wanted, where he stood with the rest of the G-20 leaders, which is being used inside the kingdom to reassure Saudis that all is well.

The crown prince flew over Morocco, a long-standing Saudi ally, on the way home from Buenos Aires. King Mohammed VI was applauded by the Moroccan press for not meeting the prince. In contrast, the Algerian media criticized the government for receiving Prince Mohammed. The Saudis supported the brutal crackdown on the Islamic opposition in the 1990s, which still arouses strong critiques of the army. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika did not meet the prince, citing poor health, a well-worn excuse for Bouteflika. A planned visit to Jordan is getting considerable criticism as well.

The White House remains adamant that the Saudi leadership is the crucial American ally in the region: vital for arms sales, cheap oil and containing Iran. The administration has been under siege as new revelations about the communications between the assassins of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the crown prince’s office in Riyadh on the day of the murder have leaked out. The evidence of the prince’s complicity in premeditated murder is strong and getting stronger. Worse for the kingdom is that the Khashoggi affair has attracted more attention to the Saudis' disastrous war in Yemen, the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world.