I will always be amazed how they couldn't make a deal with Trump.

They had his administration tied in establishment knots for so long a Republican Supermajority couldn't even make any headway on real tax reform or anti-gun control measures.

But the Saudis? They took one look at him, and knew he was one of them. When he went on his tour of the middle east, they rolled out the red carpet, had bands play for him, did parades, all sorts of silly shit because he was an arrogant strongman who wanted to improve his brand.

It worked so well, they assassinated a journalist and he still made a massive weapons deal to fuel a war in Yemen.

If the establishment had any fucking brains, and weren't so damned petty, they could have welcomed him into the club, got someone to suck his dick, do some basic sycophantic bullshit, and he would have been as completely cucked as Boris Johnson is.

BUT... they were just so selfish that they couldn't stand to let him into the clique. He was part of their clique in the 90's. They could have let him back in, but there was just too many hurt feelings to think strategically.