Donald Trump has prompted fears over his state of mind, after he reportedly made a major blunder during his trip to Saudi Arabia. The US President flew into Riyadh on Tuesday, where he was met at the airport by the kingdom’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The White House boss was whisked off to the Saudi Royal Court, where he took part in a signing ceremony to seal a lucrative deal. The deal included a £453billion ($600bn) “commitment to invest in the US” made by Saudi Arabia as well as a major arms agreement.
Later the US President was introduced to a number of Saudi military officials, with whom he exchanged salutes and handshakes.
A video posted to social media channels shows a long line of Saudi army officers lining up to meet and greet the US Commander-in-Chief, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman watches on.
However, the US President appears to have made a major diplomatic faux pas, as one eagle-eyed Democrat was quick to point out.
In a post to his X social media channel, Chris D Jackson – a political strategist – wrote: “A very confused Trump just saluted Saudi military officials at the Royal Court in Riyadh – a blatant breach of US presidential protocol.
“Imagine for one second if Joe Biden had done that. Fox News would have a week-long meltdown and demand hearings. But when it’s Trump? Crickets. Unreal.”
His remarks provoked a flurry of responses and intense debate among social media users over whether Trump had in fact breached any protocol.
One wrote: “Doesn’t Trump have protocol advisers. Saluting officers of a Dictatorship. Pathetic.”
The majority, though, saw nothing untoward in Trump’s actions and jumped to his defence.
John Dough said: “President Trump is the Commander-in-Chief of our Military.
“In military organizations world wide, inferior (lower-ranking) officers salute superior (higher-ranking) officers as a sign of respect and recognition of authority.
“This practice is rooted in military tradition and protocol, where saluting is a formal gesture to acknowledge rank and hierarchy.
“The superior officer returns the salute, acknowledging the respect and recognition he has been given.
“Note they are saluting President Trump and he is returning their salute. This is not a breach of “presidential protocol.”
As president of the US, Trump is also the commander-in-chief, which gives him broad authority over the country’s military.