Supplement pool for pre-dinner festivities:
Pool arrived at the Murabba Palace just before 9 p.m., to a welcome ceremony for POTUS that was already in full gear. A line of Saudi Arabian men in white thobes, wielding giant silver swords, chanted rhythmically and waved their swords in the air. A Saudi official described it as a "war dance," or a traditional dance of the Najd region, that is typically performed to celebrate victory in war. In this case, according to the official, it was it was a welcoming dance to underscore the friendship the Saudi King is extending to POTUS. POTUS was in the middle of the melee, along with his top aides (spotted: Cohn, Bannon) and photographers and videographers captured him swaying to the drumbeat-fueled chanting. In the middle, members of the Saudi delegation were dressed in colorful, traditional garb, and playing music on large drums. Strobe lights lit up the sky behind the palace courtyard. Jerome was with the POTUS for the tour of the King Abdulaziz historical center. Pool is now holding inside an atrium, watching a large screen of a live performance of a men-only concert in Riyadh featuring Toby Keith. |