Orb touching by Trump, Arab rulers in Saudi Arabia draws ridicule
Images of US President Donald Trump, his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud simultaneously touching a glowing orb to inaugurate an “anti-extremism” center in Riyadh have sparked ridicule on social media.
The trio was on Sunday pictured standing with their hands on the miniature luminescent sphere at the opening event for what has been called the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology — in the Saudi capital of all places.
The irony was not lost on many people across the world, who took to social media to draw attention to the matter in light-hearted ways. People sometimes used scenes of evil characters touching orbs from various movies to make their points.
Some people captioned the photo with “Hail HYDRA,” referring to a fictional terrorist organization appearing in Marvel comic books and movies.
Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia saw a lot of fanfare and pomp. The royal Saudi family went out of its way to give Trump and his family an entertaining welcome to impress the new US president, a political novice whose belief system is apparently perceived to be susceptible to extravaganza.
He was made the keynote speaker of an “Arabic Islamic American Summit” in Riyadh, during which he ranted about fighting extremism.
The opening of the “Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology” came as Saudi Arabia itself is known to be the major force behind the “ideology” of Daesh and other terrorist groups in the Middle East. Saudi clerics, whose work is sanctioned by Riyadh, freely preach Wahhabism, a violent strand of “ideology” that declares people of other faiths “infidels” and allows killing them.
The US itself has been a supporter of Saudi Arabia in its brutal war on Yemen and of the many violent groups fighting in Syria to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
Trump traveled to Saudi Arabia on Saturday on the first leg of a Middle East tour. He had been extensively lobbied by Saudi officials — including during a Washington trip by Salman’s son, Mohammed, who used PowerPoint slides to sway Trump — to pick Saudi Arabia as his first destination as president.
Trump and Salman signed an arms deal worth $109 billion, part of a broader $350-billion package of economic and defense investments over the next decade.
Trump, a businessman-turned-politician, has been known for making remarks against Saudi Arabia in the past. The Saudis, however, made the fanciful attempts in welcoming Trump to indicate that he is more in line with them than former US president Barack Obama.
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