Intel: How Democratic 2020 hopefuls are making the most of anti-Saudi backlash

Fresh off the midterm elections, Democratic politicians hoping to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020 are starting to hone their foreign policy credentials. And Saudi Arabia makes for ideal target practice.

In a foreign policy address today, Massachusetts senator and potential 2020 contender Elizabeth Warren criticized Trump for his close-knit relationship with the Saudis despite the growing backlash against Riyadh in the wake of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

“The president of the United States has refused to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia in part because he is more interested in appeasing US defense contractors than holding the Saudis accountable for the murder of a Washington Post journalist or for the thousands of Yemeni civilians killed by those weapons,” Warren said in a speech at American University.

Why it matters: Warren’s speech comes after another high-profile 2020 hopeful, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., delivered his own foreign policy address last month. Sanders was equally critical of Trump’s relationship with the Saudis, repeatedly zeroing in on Khashoggi’s murder as an example of Trump’s proclivity for foreign dictators.