sábado, 20 de mayo de 2017

Saudis give Trump a reception fit for a king

At night, a large image of the president was beamed onto the outside of his hotel.



President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport on May 20, 2017, in Riyadh. | AP PhotoPresident Donald Trump had to travel to someone else’s kingdom to get the respect he has always craved.

From his airport greeting by King Salman of Saudi Arabia — a courtesy that was never extended to his predecessor, President Barack Obama — to the military flyover and cannons that accompanied his descent from Air Force One, to a lavish cardamon coffee ceremony and medal presentation at the Royal Court, the American president on Saturday was treated like a real-life king.




For Trump, a son of Queens who has never overcome his outer-borough-outsider mentality, his election as president has only seemed to increase his feelings that everyone is against him. “No politician in history, and I say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly,” Trump railed during a commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy last week.

On Twitter, he has complained about the ongoing investigation into possible collusion between his 2016 campaign and the Russians, crying out: “This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!”

But in Saudi Arabia, a kingdom eager to literally roll out the red carpet for a new American president, there was no one to delegitimize him — and his James Comey-related problems seemed to be 6,000 miles away. From the airport to the Ritz Hotel, Trump passed American flags and billboards displaying his face next to King Salman’s image, under the slogan “Together We Prevail.” At night, a large image of Trump was beamed onto the outside of his hotel.

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