Saudi Arabia greets Trump with lavish royal welcome

[ad_1] WASHINGTON (AP) — The fist bump appears so way back.

Three years after Joe Biden’s cursory greeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Donald Trump luxuriated in an extravagant royal welcome as he arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Considerations about human rights and fossil fuels within the oil-rich autocracy had been nowhere on the agenda. As a substitute the day was all about slicing offers and celebrating a private relationship that has endured by way of scandal and political turmoil.

“I actually imagine we like one another quite a bit,” Trump stated as they sat on golden chairs under elaborate chandeliers within the royal palace. Throughout a speech later within the day, the president described Prince Mohammed as an “unimaginable man” and “my buddy.”

President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gesture as they meet delegations on the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Might 13, 2025. (AP Photograph/Alex Brandon)

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The sensation was clearly mutual. The crown prince addressed his visitor as “my pricey President Trump,” and the Saudis performed his marketing campaign anthems — “God Bless the united statesA.” and “ YMCA ” — throughout his look at an funding discussion board.

For the U.S. Republican president, the go to was a return to the worldwide stage after his comeback election victory (Precisely one 12 months in the past, he was on trial in a hush cash case and listening to his former lawyer testify against him in a New York Metropolis courtroom.)

Though Trump not too long ago attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, Saudi Arabia was initially supposed to be his preliminary abroad vacation spot, similar to in his first term . It served as a gilded debut for a overseas coverage centered on securing money infusions for American companies.

Trump pumped his fist as he stepped out of Air Pressure One, then descended the steps to shake fingers with Prince Mohammed, who greeted his visitor on the tarmac in a uncommon show of respect.

The crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, has been wanting to rehabilitate his world picture after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence officers accused him of ordering. He’s additionally looking for an financial revival for the dominion to cut back its reliance on fossil fuels, and the event was a chance to exhibit that the floodgates for funding had been open once more.

President Donald Trump walks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman throughout an arrival ceremony on the Royal Terminal of King Khalid Worldwide Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Might 13, 2025.(AP Photograph/Alex Brandon)

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The visitor listing for an elaborate luncheon was full of company executives, together with Ruth Porat of Google, Stephen Schwarzman of the Blackstone Group, Jane Fraser of Citicorp, Alex Karp of Palantir and Jensen Huang of NVIDIA. Additionally attending was Elon Musk , the world’s richest individual and a high adviser to Trump.

As Air Pressure One approached Riyadh, Saudi pilots in six American-made F-15 fighter jets escorted the airplane. After a standard espresso ceremony contained in the royal terminal on the airport, Trump’s limousine was flanked by riders on white Arabian horses carrying American and Saudi flags. A honor guard was lined up with golden swords.

(Lacking from the go to was the orb , a glowing sphere a bit greater than a bowling ball that Trump memorably posed for photographs with throughout his journey to Riyadh in his first time period.)

Trump has downplayed conventional American alliances in Europe, and infrequently expressed exasperation with the nation’s buying and selling and protection companions. However there was no such hesitation in Riyadh, and he stated the connection between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia “has been a bedrock of safety and prosperity,”

Members of a standard Saudi honor guard with their golden swords await the arrival of President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman throughout an arrival ceremony on the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Might 13, 2025. (AP Photograph/Alex Brandon)

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Biden acquired little of the identical pomp when he visited three years in the past. He had beforehand criticized Saudi Arabia as a “pariah” however determined to travel to the kingdom anyway in an implicit acknowledgement that it was too influential of a worldwide participant to disregard.

The crown prince greeted the Democratic president on the palace, which is the place the 2 leaders exchanged their fist bump. Their solely different joint public look was all enterprise, as they sat throughout from one another at a big convention desk, flanked by high advisers.

Later that 12 months, OPEC+ introduced it will scale back oil manufacturing in a blow to Biden, whose political fortunes had been being battered by inflation. The Democratic president acknowledged that it was “a disappointment, and it says that there are issues” within the U.S.-Saudi relationship.

However there was no such friction throughout Trump’s go to. In his speech, the president flattered Saudi Arabia for its financial improvement and steered that overseas leaders shouldn’t be “providing you with lectures on how you can stay and how you can govern your individual affairs.”

“You achieved a contemporary miracle the Arabian means,” Trump stated.

Prince Mohammed, sitting within the viewers, positioned his proper hand on his coronary heart and beamed.

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