President Trump was more than 7,400 miles from Palm Beach, Florida, but he saw the house.
The Saudi royal family had a Marrago East vibe, with its huge crystal chandelier, polished marble, gorgeous carpets and portraits of King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
On Tuesday, the first day of the president's four-day Middle East swing, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, gave Trump royal treatment.
Trump was escorted through Saudi Arabian airspace by three F-15 fighters adjacent to each side of the Air Force. The President's limousine was accompanied by an Arabian horse rider at the Royal Court in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The horns of music exploded. The Honorary Guards called attention when Prince Mohammed led Trump to the court along the long lavender carpet.
The president couldn't stop smiling, and of course. The Saudi royal family is his friends and allies. They are business partners of his family. More than most, they understand his preferences and desires.
“We really believe we love each other very much,” Trump said, sitting beside the crown prince in the king's executive office.
As he took a walk along the royal court with Prince Mohammed, the president seemed impressed by his surroundings. The golden leaves were everywhere. The moldings and tables and the legs of the blue velvet armchair were all golden.
Trump, who likens the United States to a “ultra-luxury store,” has similar gold decorations throughout his oval office. He plans to set up a ballroom in the White House, and ordered a Rose Garden renovation, transforming it into an outdoor dining area that looks like the Palm Beach home and the patio at the club's Mar-a-Lago.
After lunch at the Royal Court, Trump spoke at the Saudi Investment Forum in the Ballroom where the Saudi government holds a grand tank-sized event under the chandelier.
Defense contractors, international financiers and construction executives will try out virtual reality goggles, gaw the architectural models of the Kingdom's planned megaprojects, including the “Line,” and delve into “Trogena,” including the “Trogena,” a 100-mile long-range skyscraper with a mirrored face, to unlock ski resorts where civil servants head northward in the country.
A handful of magha hats could be found between the traditional red and white checkered headdress worn by Saudi participants.
Trump was given a tour of what his Saudi host called a “memory gallery.”
He was then shown in 1950 to Saudi Arabia's founder Abdulaziz al-Saud, the desk given by President Harry S. Truman. Saudi officials evoked a 1945 meeting between the king and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This was said to be a decisive encounter that “layed the foundation for lasting diplomatic relations between the two countries.”
Trump and Prince Mohammed were subsequently escorted to the stage while dramatic music was being played. After the Crown Prince spoke, Lee Greenwood's “God Bless the USA” played for a few minutes, and Trump listened with approval as he sang alongside the final line.
Trump's long days of royal treatment began the moment he left Air Force 1 at the Royal Terminal, a special section of VIP at King Harid International Airport.
Prince Mohammed greets the president at the airport, showing the special status Trump enjoys in Saudi Arabia. When President Biden visited in 2022 – after he said he would make the kingdom a “paria,” he realized he needed that help to lower oil prices – the Crown Prince sent Governor of Mecca to welcome him at the airport.
After sunset, Prince Mohammed appealed to the president's passion for real estate by taking him on a tour of major developments on the land where his ancestors once lived.
Diriya, a historic town above Wadi Hanifa, a river valley on the outskirts of Riyadh, was the original seat of the power of the Saudi royal family from 300 years ago. Today, the UNESCO site, a town with mud brick walls, is being restored. Prince Mohammed hopes to turn it into a tourism magnet by building a $60 billion commercial and residential project associated with Riyadh through underground transport.
After showing Trump the scale model for the site, Prince Mohammed grabbed the wheel of his golf cart and took the president to state dinner.
Trump is staying on the first night of his four-day trip at the stately Ritz-Carlton and Riyadh, a hotel located in 52 acres of well-maintained gardens. Riyadh Ritz is the same hotel where Trump stayed during his first presidential visit eight years ago, and President Barack Obama stayed in 2014.
However, the hotel is well known as Prince Mohammed's five-star prison. In 2017 he used Ritz-Carlton to detain enemies, including government ministers, businessmen and members of his own royal family.
The Crown Prince was doing what he described as a crackdown on corruption. Others saw it as an integration and portent of power for his future governance.
