Trump takes part in traditional Saudi sword dance
Team Trump have let their hair down on the first night in Saudi Arabia by taking part in a traditional sword dance, reports Daily Mail Online.
President Donald Trump was spotted swaying and smiling as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Saudis for the ceremonial male-only sword dance on Saturday.
Trump`s Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were more inclined to get involved as they linked arms with the men next to them and awkwardly danced to the drum beats as they held their swords.
The dance took place outside the King Abdulaziz Historical Center as First Lady Melania Trump, Trump`s son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka watched on.
While Trump`s Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon also made a brief appearance, they didn`t appear to join in the ceremonial dancing.
The welcome took place before a state dinner in Trump`s honor with the Saudi king and other senior Saudi royals.
The menu was set to include an array of dishes, including steak and ketchup alongside lamb and hefty portions of rice.
It comes after the Trumps were greeted by the Saudi king and a long red carpet when they landed in the capital, Riyadh, for the president`s first overseas visit in office.
He touched down in the Middle East Saturday morning, hours after tweeting about his excitement for his first `big foreign trip.`
Trump flew to Riyadh overnight on Air Force One - becoming the only president to make Saudi Arabia, or any majority Muslim country, his first stop overseas as president.
His arrival following a 6,700-mile flight was met with the pomp usually reserved for the likes of a Papal welcome in South America.
The president got the red carpet treatment - literally - and some airport workers took off their shoes before manicuring it with brooms in 97-degree heat.
The Saudi King later presented Trump with the kingdom`s top civilian honor, the gold King Abdulaziz medal, at the royal court.
There were 30 US flags at the ready at the airport, a tiny fraction of the thousands that line streets and highways between the airport and the city center.
A 90-person Royal Saudi Air Forces honor guard practiced rifle drills and then stood at attention while Trump and his kingly escort ambled toward the terminal.
He heard an eight-bugle fanfare, watched a seven-jet flyover trailing red, white and blue smoke. And cannon fire. Lots of cannon fire, which didn`t cease until Trump and King Salman were safely inside.
Inside the terminal, the fragrant smell of oud filled the air as workers burned the aromatic wood in charcoal lamps.
Wafting Saudi oud scents also permeate the air in the souks - marketplaces - that snake through the oldest part of town. Just steps away is Ad Deerah, known to locals as `chop-chop square` because of periodic public beheadings.
Trump later said the first day of his maiden international trip had been `tremendous.` He was largely kept away from reporters during a busy day of meetings and ceremonies in Riyadh.
He said deals the US government and private sector reached would lead to `tremendous investments` in the United States. He said the deals will also create `jobs, jobs, jobs.`
Trump has agreed to a defense cooperation deal with the Saudis, pledging $110 billion effective immediately and up to $350 billion over 10 years. There are some private sector agreements, too.
The military package includes tanks, combat ships, missile defense systems, radar and communications, and cybersecurity technology.
Trump will face questions over the weekend about the wisdom of establishing partnerships with a government known for human rights violations and for its Medieval treatment of women.
Females cannot drive cars in the kingdom, and their every move, from travel to shopping, is overseen by male family members.
On Saturday the only females seen among the welcome retinue were a pair of small girls presenting flowers and an African-American woman, who turned out to be a U.S. Secret Service agent.
Melania and Ivanka Trump seemed determine to make a statement by deplaning without head coverings, a rare sight among women in Riyadh whose main choices are the hijab and the niqab.
Still, the first lady stayed a half-dozen steps behind King Salman and her husband, escorted by a lone U.S. Marine in full dress uniform, as she stepped off Air Force One.
After a welcome ceremony inside the Royal Terminal, Trump and Salman sat together in `The Beast,` the White House`s armored SUV that travels in the belly of Air Force One.
The first stop was the glitzy Ritz-Carlton, whose exterior is being lit up at night with giant projected images of the American flag.
Trump`s first overseas speech is expected to frame the global fight against ISIS and other Islamist terror groups as a `battle between good and evil` - but early drafts suggest he will not use the phrase `radical Islamic terrorism.`
He will also call on leaders in the Middle East to `drive out terrorists from your places of worship.`
Signs of American caution are everywhere as the president who once campaigned on the strength of excluding Muslims from the U.S. ventured into the nation whose king partners in construction with the Bin Laden Group.
U.S. military snipers stood guard on nearby jetways. A duplicate Air Force One 747 jet stood by, lest Trump`s schedule should be waylaid by engine trouble.
Wearing a dark suit and a bright blue tie, the president descended stairs from his exclusive plane with first lady Melania Trump, after staff including his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner - arm in arm - exited from the rear of the aircraft.
