President Trump received a lavish royal welcome in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning, where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and a multitude of military, governmental, and business dignitaries warmly greeted him.
After stepping off Air Force One onto a lavender carpet at King Khalid International Airport, Trump was joined by the crown prince inside the royal terminal. Among those also welcomed were Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Approximately thirty minutes before landing in Saudi Arabia, two Saudi F-15 fighter jets appeared alongside the president’s plane, providing a close escort, as detailed by a reporter accompanying the president on the flight.
The crown prince greeted Trump again when he arrived at the Royal Court, where another lavender carpet was rolled out. Trump’s motorcade was escorted by riders on Arabian horses and horns were playing as he got out of his car.
The Star Spangled Banner played as did the Saudi national anthem before Trump and the crown prince went inside the palace for the coffee ceremony along with hundreds of attendees.
They include FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, Boeing CEO Arvind Krishna, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
A delegation of U.S. and Saudi journalists are also in attendance.
The president greeted all the Saudi Arabian guests and other attendees spotted at the coffee including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Chief of staff Susie Wiles has also joined Trump on the trip.
Later in the day, Trump is expected to attend a Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum at the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center and attend a state dinner at Diriyah At-Turaif, a world heritage site.
Saudi Arabia is the first stop on Trump’s Middle East trip. Later this week he will travel to the United Arab Emiterate and Qatar, which both border Saudi Arabia.
