Trump basks in lavish Saudi welcome, escaping troubles

US President Donald Trump, left, and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud take part in a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh on May 20, 2017.

King Salman gave Trump a remarkably warm greeting, meeting him at the steps of Air Force One on arrival, shaking the hand of Trump’s wife, Melania, riding with Trump in his limousine and spending most of the day with him.

The president also plans to travel to Israel, the Vatican, Brussels and Sicily.

The visit comes as Mr Trump faces uproar at home following his sacking of Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey.

On Friday afternoon, The New York Times broke the latest in a string of revelations suggesting that Trump fired FBI Director James Comey to quash the agency’s investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election. Neither did President Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, or any of the other women in Trump’s delegation. Given all of his rhetoric and threats to be much tougher on the Muslim world than President Barack Obama was, one would not expect Trump’s visits to be especially friendly.

And during her time as first lady, Laura Bush generally went without covering her head, though she once briefly donned a head scarf she received as a gift.

“Great to be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia”. Aides say the president hopes his speech will resonate worldwide and express “a common vision of peace, progress and prosperity”.

President Donald Trump and other male White House officials bounced along to a ceremonial sword dance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday outside the Murabba Palace. The issue of terrorism and relations between U.S. and Muslim countries are expected to dominate the summit.

Mr Trump had been assured a warm welcome in Riyadh, which is keen to rebuild ties with a major ally.

The normally austere kingdom put on a major display for the visit, with the streets of Riyadh lined with United States and Saudi flags and billboards featuring Mr Trump and King Salman.

In a litany of tweets, Stone berated Saudi Arabia as “the enemy” and slammed Trump for accepting the Order of Abdulaziz from King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The president and First Lady Melania Trump waved as they stood at the top of stairs that had been rolled to the side of the official presidential aircraft after it landed. But pressed further, a lot of ordinary Saudis will voice their dislike of United States policies in the region and their conviction that the United States, and by extension the West, is intrinsically anti-Islamic.

Trump and the US delegation, which includes virtually his entire senior White House staff and some of his Cabinet, were treated like royalty in a series of welcoming ceremonies.

The deals are at least in part aimed at garnering good will with Trump, who has focused on delivering a boost to companies in those three industries, giving him a multibillion-dollar package to champion as he returns to the United States.