As Iranian missiles fly into Saudi Arabia, Emily Austin is sitting with me in a Midtown New York City barbecue joint that smells of succulent braised pork, bemoaning the fact that she keeps kosher. The 24-year-old sports reporter turned conservative influencer has 2.6 million Instagram followers, a cushy gig as a boxing announcer, a twice-weekly podcast, and a place in Riyadh, because, well, that’s where the action is.
“It started with boxing, but now they’re getting everything,” Austin says of the Saudis. “Golf, tennis. They’re trying for the NBA. There’s a lot of reasons the NBA doesn’t want to sign with them.” But she only gave me one.
“They say it’s because of Jamal Khashoggi,” says Austin, referring to the journalist who was murdered and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. She’s not buying it. “I don’t think the NBA gives a shit about him, if I’m being honest. They don’t care about human rights violations.”
Austin speaks bluntly, but acts carefully. As well she should, having endured her fair share of brutal criticism, from both the left and the far right, for her pro-Israel commentary and her unwitting participation in the “Epstein binders” fiasco at the White House (more on both in a moment). As we settle into an empty corner of the restaurant, she orders some nonalcoholic elderflower concoction, pushing back her long blonde hair. I order a beer.
