Crown prince greets Trump for elaborate Saudi welcoming ceremonies

President Trump was treated to an elaborate royal welcoming to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, early Tuesday, when he was greeted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and hundreds of military, government and business officials.

Trump walked off of Air Force One and onto a lavender carpet rolled out at King Khalid International Airport and entered the royal terminal with the crown prince, who also greeted Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

While Air Force One was approaching Saudi Arabia, about a half-hour from landing, Saudi F-15 fighter jets appeared on both sides of the president’s plane and escorted it at proximity, according to a reporter traveling on the plane with the president.

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 “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 included FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.

A delegation of U.S. and Saudi journalists also were 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 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 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 Emirates and Qatar, which both border Saudi Arabia.