A break from the pressure: Trump in Saudi Arabia

A break from the pressure: Trump in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia welcomed Donald Trump on Saturday with a lavish reception, but feelings about the visit were mixed elsewhere in the Arab world.
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3 min read
The New Arab Staff

The New Arab

20 May, 2017
Trump's visit was overshadowed by troubles at home [Anadolu]
President Donald Trump touched down in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday, on the first leg of his first foreign tour as US president.

Trump and his wife Melania were greeted on the tarmac by Saudi Arabia's King Salman, where the president is due to deliver a speech at a Muslim summit on Islam in Riyadh on Sunday.

During the first day of the visit, Trump and his entourage were given a warm official reception and met a number of leading Saudi officials and members of the royal family.

Many in Saudi Arabia and the US hope the regal welcome will strengthen relations between the two countries, after frictions under the Obama administration.

Trump and his adviser-daughter Ivanka were also introduced to some traditional Saudi customs such as how to discreetly tell servers "khalas" when you've had enough Arabic coffee.
Ivanka proved to be a hit on Saudi social media with her own hashtag created specially for the occasion to make her feel a "part of the family". 
While much of the Western media focused on Melania's decision not to wear a headscarf in Riyadh (with the misperception that the hijab is obligitory for women in Saudi Arabia) Arabic pundits set the record straight.
Yet, the visit was overshadowed by troubles at home for Trump with some poking fun at a history of embattled regional leaders fleeing their homes for exile in Saudi Arabia.
It came just after the Washington Post and New York Times dropped double bomb shells about US investigations into the Trump team's alleged linked with Russia.

While Trump was getting the royal treatment in Riyadh, his adminstration at home were likely in overdrive and the US dailies could barely contain their glee.






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