US President Donald Trump received a royal Saudi welcome Tuesday as he arrived in the capital, Riyadh, descending Air Force One on purple-carpeted steps to a greeting from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump and the crown prince greeted each other warmly and walked the tarmac together, also briefly speaking to top Saudi officials before entering the airport, where they were seated in plush purple chairs with gold trim underneath portraits of Saudi royal family members.
They were joined by top US officials — Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright — as well as Saudi officials, who each sat in purple chairs alongside.
Prince bin Salman has emerged as a key Trump ally who has been involved in US efforts to mediate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. He has worked to cultivate close ties to Trump, starting in the president’s first term, and was among the first world leaders to congratulate him after his swearing-in in January.
Choosing Riyadh as the first stop on his first major international trip of his second term underscores how Trump is seeking to prioritize and employ.
“I’ll be asking the crown prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around one trillion. I think they’ll do that because we’ve been very good to them,” Trump said in response to the offer.
According to a Saudi official close to the defence ministry, Riyadh will push for securing the latest US F-35 fighter jets along with state-of-the-art air defence systems worth billions of dollars.
Eight years ago, Trump also chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas trip as president, when he memorably posed with a glowing orb and participated in a sword dance.
His decision to once again bypass traditional Western allies to travel to the oil-rich Gulf states underscores their increasingly crucial geopolitical role, along with his business relations in the region.
