US President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an arrival ceremony at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon)
US President Donald Trump begins his Mideast tour with a rare tarmac welcome from Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who warmly greets Trump as he steps off Air Force One.
The pomp began before Trump even landed. Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom’s capital.
The two leaders retreat to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides are served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun-belts.
Saudi Air Force F-15 warplanes escort Air Force One carrying US President Donald Trump as it arrives in Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon)
The crown prince’s airport greeting underscores the close relationship the de facto ruler of the kingdom wants to have with the American leader.
Typically, a provincial governor or another official will greet a foreign leader on arrival. King Salman once greeted US president Barack Obama at the airport on a trip to the kingdom, but then lower-ranking officials did as the kingdom grew angry over his stance on the 2011 Arab Spring and the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
US president Joe Biden also was greeted by a provincial governor on his 2022 trip to the kingdom, before having an awkward fist-bump with Prince Mohammed, whom he had derided as a “pariah” during his election campaign after the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
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