That's not a scowl on Melania's face, it's jetlag. Inside, she's THRILLED to be in Saudi Arabia.

[Miles Archer]

President Trump, King Salman, first lady Melania Trump and Saudi officials have coffee on Saturday at a V.I.P. reception terminal in King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. (Bandar Al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AFP/Getty Images)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-gets-elaborate-welcome-in-saudi-arabia-embarking-on-first-foreign-trip/2017/05/20/679f2766-3d1d-11e7-a058-ddbb23c75d82_story.html

[Kentonio]

1. So much tackiness in that room

He definitely feels right at home.

[malaise]

81. The Con has ordered doubles for

his TT living room

[livetohike]

2. What a sad picture. If she doesn't want the job of First Lady, she

should just stay home. She always seems like an accessory - something you might forget you brought with you.

[DK504]

74. Don't worry Ivanka was there to explain all the big words to her demented father.

Melonia needs to divorce his ass and go into Witness Protection with her kid.

[FakeNoose]

83. She just looks bored

They're all ignoring her anyway. Even the sheik's wife is only paying attention to the men.

My guess is she didn't want to go on this trip. The things some people are willing to do for money!

[Chemisse]

3. Good times.

I wonder if she had to find her own way to the reception. I'm betting her husband left her in the dust.

[Princess Turandot]

9. Actually, BBC had a clip on their arrival...you're on the right track...

Almost immediately, there was a bunch of men between her and Trump. It looked like she could've turned around and gotten back on the plane w/o him noticing. And there was nobody there to walk with her from the host country, as you see sometimes, perhaps because of their attitudes towards women.

Link to tweet

[Chemisse]

13. Treated like trash. Exactly what she signed up for.

I'm sure the gold decor in her penthouse makes it totally worth it to her.

[samnsara]

27. all she has to do is wait it out a cpl more years and she will be a rich widow....

[Chemisse]

34. That's probably what she is thinking about in the picture - lol!

[enough]

19. That's truly amazing. Looks like there's not another woman in any capacity in that

entire event, even inside the palace. They're treating her as if she's not there. Where the hell was the U.S. advance staff?

[Tanuki]

26. Amazing. Even with the restrictions on gender interaction,

they could have had someone like the U.S. Ambassador's wife or a ranking female State Department official greet her and walk her down the red carpet.

[bettyellen]

77. On CNN live they made a huge deal over the fact that 1) the 80 year old king showed up and 2) he

Actually deigned to shake Melania's hand.
They said it was all much more respectful than how he treated the Obamas. They said he was going all out to throw in his lot w Trump.

[Tanuki]

82. He shook hands with Michelle Obama. CNN should know that,

as they reported it at the time.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2015/01/27/politics/michelle-obama-shakes-hands-saudi-king/index.html

"President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama made a quick stop in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to pay respects to the late King Abdullah, and to hold meetings with the new leader, King Salman bin Abdulaziz. But one aspect of the encounter stood out to reporters covering the receiving line at the palace: the first lady shook hands with the king.

Islamic law generally forbids men from touching women to whom they are not related. However, that rule is often times overlooked when official diplomatic delegations visit the kingdom.

The White House notes that representatives of the United States, including former Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel have all visited the Saudi king, and have all shaken hands with members of the Saudi royal family." .....(More)

[bettyellen]

85. Good catch! For some reason the will he/ won't he show up at the airport was

Overplayed so much I think it was a PR thing. They'd been handed the narrative that he planned to show more respect for DT and were looking for signs that it was true.
I suppose that means he didn't show up for the Obamas- or rollmout such a big carpet and have tea with him.

[Tanuki]

88. The Obamas' visit occurred in the wake of the old king's death.

I would think that protocol would dictate a more subdued reception at such a time. As noted in the quote from my post above, "President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama made a quick stop in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to pay respects to the late King Abdullah, and to hold meetings with the new leader, King Salman bin Abdulaziz."

[bettyellen]

90. Yeah it seemed like they were handed a script to make the arrival interesting. Good points.

[Hekate]

45. At the seated photo op there is a middle aged woman in the middle, I assumed a translator

As for the US advance staff -- where indeed? I saw film of Jarvanka walking hand in hand. Melania must be a very lonely woman.

[anneboleyn]

47. He walks like a giant toddler, and of course he TOTALLY IGNORES Melania the whole time. Ass.

[NurseJackie]

78. You're right! Is he drunk? Does he have palsy? Perhaps this would explain...

... his fear of stairs.

[nolabear]

55. Not another woman in sight. It's chilling, though I can almost hear his envy.

Perfumed air...marble escalator (too big...much too big)...nice, comfy robes...I can't wait to be king!

[Bengus81]

73. Trump: Hey Melania...you back there somewhere?? Eh.....n/t

[Doodley]

4. Two men, born into riches, who like to hang pictures of themselves on walls.

[katmondoo]

5. Look for new pictures of Trump hanging in the Oval Office

Impressive display of the leaders of Saudi hanging behind Trump

[SticksnStones]

6. I wonder if she'll go to the Toby Keith concert oh wait...never mind.

[Miles Archer]

8. I wonder what kind of shows are on Saudi cable

Maybe they have pay-per-view in her room. Maybe she can make a call and enjoy "Finding Dory" again while her husband is enjoying his well-done steak with ketchup with the menfolk.

[enough]

7. What do his rabid Muslim-hating followers think of all this? NT

[Miles Archer]

10. I haven't bothered to check that out, but my guess is...

...that it's something along the lines of "He'll show them who's boss."

[madokie]

11. Thrilled I tells ya

tangerine man child is a dick

[milestogo]

12. The flowers are beautiful, but who needs that many on a coffee table?

[Hekate]

56. The coffee table isn't for coffee, that's why. For the photo, it's decor with flowers.

[lindysalsagal]

14. Thrilled to be sleeping with the gropenfuhrer, too, I'm sure.

I hope melania takes things into her own hands. Take that any way you want.

[SummerSnow]

15. I was watching the footage this morning. Ivanka was more conversational than her.

You wanted to be the FLOTUS then act like it. If she didn't want it then she sold her soul

[Hekate]

63. Ivanka said she'd fill in as FLOTUS, but she lied as she has no clue what that really entails...

...and has no respect for the job (I'm guessing). Otherwise she never would have left the wife of the PM of Japan to wander around our Capitol city on a self-guided tour. That's just effing rude. Ivanka's Crown Princess and getting on the job training in daddy's office.

Melania so very obviously never wanted the job, and has been stalling for all she's worth to keep from moving into the WH with her erstwhile spouse.

[spinbaby]

16. Who is the woman in the middle?

She also doesn't look pleased to be there.

[CottonBear]

18. Probably a translator. N/T

[librechik]

68. lol--good-Trump and Melania could use one, no doubt! n/t

[bettyellen]

75. The translator- she looks like she can't make out half of what DT says too...

She had this truly puzzled look on her face much of the time.

[Tanuki]

86. She's probably been told if he goes off-script and says something horrifyingly inappropriate,

her duty is to think quickly and say something else instead. She has to be more vigilant than usual in her job today.

[tblue37]

17. didn't Cheato criticize Michelle for not covering her head in Saudi Arabia? nt

[still_one]

53. yup

[tblue37]

65. Both Ivanka & Melanie failed to cover their heads. nt

[still_one]

71. It would be refreshing if someone would remind trump of criticism of Michelle regarding that when he

returns, but of course that won't happen

[grossproffit]

20. The woman in the middle doesn't look very happy either.

[oberliner]

31. Who is that woman?

Translator maybe?

[gordianot]

59. First glance I thought maybe they cleaned up Steve Bannon.

[lindysalsagal]

66. There's not enough soap on the continent, or anywhere.

[madaboutharry]

21. I find the video clip kind of sad.

I don't have all that much empathy for Melania. She made this choice. And I found her interview with Joy Behar and her birther commentary unforgivable.

But it always hurts to be an afterthought. Watch the clip posted above. Trump never once looks back to see where she is and if she is ok. Melania looks like the loneliest woman in the world, even when she is in a room full of people.

The only time she seems to smile is when she gets attention from strangers.

[SonofDonald]

22. Look at him walk.

Looks like he's had a few, having a hard time holding it together in the heat.

[Hekate]

51. He walks like an old man with balance issues. Seriously, when he lurched around the stage...

...after Hillary at the debate (third one?) it was shocking how stooped he is.

The MAGA people must be absolutely blinded by their various hatreds to have chosen this bumbling old man over a woman with the mature vigor of a lifetime's achievements.

PS: despite my nickname for him, DTs, he doesn't drink. He's just a schmuck.

[Ilsa]

23. Maybe she'll ask for asylum. She might be happier not

Having to wear clothes and high heels for donald any more.

Her arms and legs are covered, so she was briefed on protocol issues.

[Chellee]

49. I'm not so sure how well she was briefed.

I don't think you're supposed to cross your legs. When you do that people can see the soles of your shoes, and I think that's considered rude. By men or women. Also, I think they might be Louboutin's, which I'm not sure is such a wise choice to wear at all because of the red soles.



She does look sad, though. Personally, I think she thought he was going to lose the election, and then she would have been able to divorce him. Now she's trapped. I don't feel too sorry for her though. He was always awful, she knew what she was signing up for, but the money was more enticing. On the other hand, I don't know this woman, maybe she's just as awful as he is.

edit: LOL - soles, not souls.

[Ilsa]

62. She may have been told not to cross her legs, but that's

Just one in nine or ten do not's in the Arab world. She may have crossed them unintentionalky, without thinking, just like her husband speaks.

[Achilleaze]

24. Something is seething, stewing deep and hot in Melania

...and it has nothing to do with romance. She appears to be about pretty damn fed up with the ongoing a-holery of the republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief, Comrade Casino, her $pousal unit.

[samnsara]

29. shes juuuust waiting.......

[irisblue]

25. Will this be the longest time the trumps have spent together

Since the inaugural?

[samnsara]

28. with all that coffee drinking i hope donnie has his disposables on....

[oberliner]

30. Who is the woman in the middle?

Can anyone identify her?

[BumRushDaShow]

33. She's apparently an interpreter

"<...>

10:25 a.m.

President Donald Trump and King Salman of Saudi Arabia met briefly for a coffee ceremony after the president's arrival Saturday in Riyadh.

Trump and Salman spoke through an interpreter inside the airport terminal after the president stepped off Air Force One.

<...>"

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-trump-lands-saudi-arabia-47526669

(hope Elad can get the excerpt code back up and running soon)

I was thinking maybe she works for the State Department?

[oberliner]

37. That was my guess

I wonder what her name is. That must be quite a job.

[BumRushDaShow]

40. I think I found another pic of her with Obama

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Obama-meets-King-Salman-at-start-of-visit-7283708.php

I am thinking she must work at the Embassy.

Shrub appears to have had a different intepreter when he was in -

[oberliner]

41. Good find

Curious to know more about her.

[dalton99a]

43. The Arabic translator with W is Gamal Helal. He worked under four presidents

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamal_Helal

[BumRushDaShow]

46. The individual you linked to is not the same - he left in 2009.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/16/us.translator/index.html?iref=24hours

[dalton99a]

60. The pic I referred to was taken on May 16, 2008 in Riyadh

when W met King Abdullah, and Helal was still the official State Department translator

Anyway, I recognized Helal. Evidently the woman is his replacement at State. I don't know her name.

[BumRushDaShow]

61. Yup and thanks!

I did some researching of him after you posted. I think at this point, she'd probably want to be anonymous under our dear doufus leader.

[anneboleyn]

48. That look she's giving Trump vs. her body language with Obama is QUITE stunning.

[hunter]

79. With Obama she's striving for a thoughtful, nuanced translation, top of her profession...

... with Trump, she's like and maybe thinking about last Sunday's Doonsebury.



http://comics.mercurynews.com/client/smc/db/2017/05/14/

[BumRushDaShow]

32. OMG had to go to FR

I remember when they had been down awhile ago. They actually linked to a RT video.

To: tellw
Her hairs isn't covered, the King shook her hand, and there are photos galore.

This will drive Saudi men to distraction.

Good.
4 posted on 5/20/2017, 7:16:55 AM by RoosterRedux
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

---
To: tellw

No head scarf. Can’t wait to hear liberals say how Melania is inciting terrorism by not caving in to dark age intolerance of women.

5 posted on 5/20/2017, 7:24:55 AM by Telepathic Intruder
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

<...>

To: Telepathic Intruder

Heard on Fox that Saudi only requires Western women to cover their arms and legs, not their hair.

8 posted on 5/20/2017, 7:30:34 AM by Tennessee Conservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

<...>

To: Tennessee Conservative

Yes

American women have been accepted for years wearing long dresses with long sleeves

The wearing of a head scarf by others we know amounted to pandering based on ignorance

17 posted on 5/20/2017, 7:35:51 AM by Thibodeaux (the long night is over)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]
---

To: Tennessee Conservative

Then she should have worn a short skirt. If the Saudis want diplomatic relations with the U.S., they should respect our customs. We should have retaken the oil fields they stole from us anyway.

18 posted on 5/20/2017, 7:43:14 AM by Telepathic Intruder
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3553683/posts

This after all the grief about Michelle and then it had to be pointed out that Laura Bush and other previous FLOTUS were without a head covering at the same airport. I swear the world is upside down.

[librechik]

69. Of course, when Michelle wore a scarf, she was pandering.

and when the Republican FLOTUSes went without, they were pioneers of freedom, not clueless and disrespectful.

Spin it if you can't win it, FR

Thanks for going there for us, BumRush!

[yardwork]

35. Melania looks tense. Trump was probably bullying her.

That's the face of somebody who feels very angry and/or scared. The face of somebody who has been attacked or bullied and then has to walk into the public eye.

[BSdetect]

36. Bet he brags that his self portrait is bigger than theirs. The biggest.

[MedusaX]

38. Look at everyone else's expressions..They are all like "WTF?" Melania has heard 45's shit spewing

for years....

Notice how everyone else is seemingly in disbelief
Like dogs trying to understand WTF you are telling them ..
Because you don't usually encourage them to chew shoes & pee in your bed.....


Melania's expression is different...
She has chosen an item in the room to focus on...
Sort of in the direction of 45...
but 45 is not in her line of sight (purposefully)

She's heard this bluster crap before
and knows he's full of shit

She has to maintain composure
And can't risk an accidental reflexive expression

So she has the insides of her mouth/cheeks
Sucked in & is effectively biting them ...

This transfers any auto attempt to smirk/smile
Downward toward the lower back corners of her jawbone
Rather than upward toward her cheekbones

By focusing on an object ...
she prevents reflexively rolling her eyes ....
When 45 says really stupid shit

And it prevents her from accidentally seeing & reflexively responding to anyone elses expressions of 'WTF?'

[Grammy23]

87. I think she is having a "Calgon, take me away" moment....

Anything to avoid the reality of her life in tRump-world.

[catbyte]

39. Benedict Donald & Malaria should feel right at home among all that garish, tacky interior

decorating the Saudi royal family seems to enjoy.

[anneboleyn]

42. Honestly, WTF is wrong with Trump's face?! It is a surreal shade of orange-red, like he's having a

very bad reaction to some type of abrasive skin treatment or something. He looks like a circus clown (even more than normal)

[3catwoman3]

76. Or like his...

...blood pressure is thru the roof.

[kskiska]

44. Like alec Baldwin said

He sits on a chair like he's on the toilet.

[librechik]

72. yes indeed--an unforgettable image, unfortunately. Thanks, Alec

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

50. If I wanted to be ignored, I could have stayed in New York!

[Tatiana]

52. Trump seems right at home, surrounded by so much chauvinism.

Melania signed up for this when she married him (i.e. being treated like property), so I don't feel terribly sorry for her.

[nini]

54. Lololol. The look on that woman's face in the middle

Hahaha. People cant seem to hold back those expressions when having to be near that bafoon.

[LisaM]

57. The optics of their relationship are disturbing.

I'm kind of surprised she went along.

[DFW]

67. We don't know that she was given the option of staying

I'm sure that certain things are not left to her to decide.

[smirkymonkey]

58. I can't help but feel sorry for her. I keep trying to tell myself that she made her own

bed, but still, I can't imagine what kind of hell she must be in right now.

[onetexan]

64. Opportunistic eastern European trash

She's a fake 1st lady of a fake president

[underpants]

70. I almost see some emotion

[L. Coyote]

80. These people can share interior decorating ideas, little more.

OF COURSE, they can also make a few billion dollar weapons deals.

[cornball 24]

84. In the latter part of his stalk walk from the plane, I noticed Turdump's heels on his shoes

looked to me to be thicker than normal-to make Turdump look taller??

[Jeroen]

89. Even the tulips are miserable being in that room n/t

[Doreen]

91. Is there possibility that trump is treating her badly

in front of those Saudi men to prove that he knows how to properly treat women in their eyes?

[justgamma]

92. Not a chance

Remember how he just left her standing by the car on his way into the White House. He's just naturally treats her like she's nothing.

[Doreen]

93. Good point.