and this led inevitably to the danger that the future president's aggressive push for friendship with vladimir putin would come to appear as a hand in glove engagement with putin's own effort to decide who that president would be. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. good morning. msnbc world headquarters. we begin with breaking news. prrtd has arrived in saudi arabia on his first international trip since taking off. trump and the first lady were given a red carpet welcome greeted by king salman stepping off air force one. they met briefly for a coffee ceremony before the president headed off in his motorcade. there will be another celebration. this comes amid a series of new developments in the u.s., two happening within minutes of him boarding air force one in washington. the washington post reporting

the russia investigation is reaching into the highest level of government. sources telling the paper that investigators are looking into possible collusion identified a senior aide, someone close to the president, as someone of significant interest. the white house issued this statement. as the president has stated before, a thorough investigation will confirm that there was no collusion between the campaign and any foreign entity. around the same time, t"the new york times" out with a report on president trump's meeting with the russians in the oval office, the day after he fired fbi director james comey. president trump reportedly told them he just fired comey calling him crazy and a real nut job. telling him it eased pressure from the russian investigation. details are part of a document summarizing the meeting. the white house is not disputing "the new york times" report in a statement that reads in part, the president has always emphasized the importance of making deals with russia as it relates to syria, ukraine, defeating isis and other key

issues for the benefit and safety of the american people. by grandstanding and political sizing the investigation into russia's actions, james comey created unnecessary pressure on our ability to negotiate with russia. james comey is ready to break his silence, seming an invitation to testify in open session before the senate intelligence committee at some point after memorial day. let's go now to riyadh, saudi arabia, where nbc's kristen welker is traveling with the president today. in a few minutes, president trump will officially be welcomed by the saudi royals. what will that look like? >> reporter: well, this is going to take place at the royal court palace. it will include the first lady and then a little bit later on the president will have a bilateral meeting with king salman. this is a day that's going to be filled with pomp and circumstance and the president will be meeting with saudi and arab leaders. his goal is to have a bit of a

reset, to send the message he's not anti-muslim, despite the kroefrsal comments he made on the campaign trail, despite his travel ban which bans people from predominantly muslim countries. he has a big ask as well. he wants this region to get more enganged in the fight against sis. he's being met with optimism, enthusiasm. they see him as someone who a counterpoint to former president obama. someone who will be tougher on iran. certainly, there's skepticism as well given some of his controversial comments. the president also hoping to turn the page on all of those controversies you just mentioned. >> the president is reportedly looking to reset relations with the muslim world in his saudi speech. how do you think he might do that? >> reporter: well, i think it's going to be a sweeping speech. i think you're going to hear him reach out to the muslim world, talk about the significance that this is his first step. that is by design. he wants to send a strong

signal, again, that he is not anti-muslim. and this community is going to be listening very carefully as will muslim in the united states and united states political world. he has set a sweeping agenda for this trip. this say five-nation, nine-day tour, his next stop is going to be israel. his goal there is to try to start the peace process again between the israelis and the palestinians. he's going to be leaving -- meeting with prime minister netanyahu as well leader of palestinian authority, mahmoud abb abbas. the question is, will he really be able to bring in that reset. there's some skepticism? that region as well, particularly after he shared information that the israelis gave to the united states highly classified information with the russian. there was frustration about that, some anger. we'll have to see how that impacts his meeting there. then he heads to the vatican as well as brussels, sicily where

he's going to have some international summits with foreign leaders. this is a foreign trip that has a high agenda. it's his first foreign trip so there's certainly a lot of pressure. he told reporters on air force one he didn't get a lot of sleep so we understand he's having a little down time before he restarts the day. >> it was a busy week. there were two key points that were dropped just before president trump left for saudi arabia. how is the white house reacting to these reports? is it going to affect the trip? >> reporter: it could affect the trip, no doubt about that. i think the president himself, his communication staff will continue to have to answer some very tough questions about those controversies that you laid out at the top of the show. late es controversies come on the heels of a number of controversies this past week, which stemmed from the president's controversial decision to fire fbi director james comey. i can tell you they're pushing

back quite vigorously already. on air force one, in the report in "the washington post" saying a person close to the president is considered a person of interest. sean spicer said, a thorough investigation will confirm there was no collusion between the campaign and any foreign entity. expect them to have to continue to answer these tough questions. what's interesting right now, there's not a presidential press conference scheduled for this trip. will they add one, that's what we are certainly pushing for and hoping for. if they don't, the president's going to get a lot of shouted questions, particularly when he's meeting with some of these foreign leaders. it could create some awkward situations. there is no doubt the kroefrss at home will follow him here on his first big foreign trip. >> kristen welker live for us in riyadh. thank you. for more now on president trump's foreign trip, let's bring in msnbc's ayman mohyeldin, the co-anchor of

"morning joe" and "first look." what is the president trying to accomplish on this first stop of saudi arabia? >> can you look at it from a few different perspectives. there's the u.s./saudi relationship, what that entails, there's the broader gulf council, and then also the united states and islamic world. if you take a look at them from different layers, the first one is strengthening that bilateral relationship with saudi arabia. we expect the saudis to announce a potential arms deal, billions of dollars. strong economic prospects on the horizon between these two countries. more importantly, strengthening that relationship. with the broader gcc countries and countries of the gulf, look for them to discuss the issue of iran. that is something that is going to come up repeatedly. gulf countries are concerned about the rise of iran in yemen, activities in syria. they think iran is a destabilizing factor. they're trying to convince president trump to be more

engaged and have a robust prominence in the region. and finally, the most important meeting will be the summit with 37 heads of state from different muslim countries from around the world in which president trump will try to outline a strategy what he calls radical extremism. with the hopes of trying to get all those countries to play a bigger role in either creating, for example, a nato of sorts to fight in syria or to even combat terrorism in different forms, whether it's finance and funding or the spread of the ideology. he's got a very aggressive agenda. if he comes out there and checks the boxes on all of those and gets what he wants, it will be a successful trip. some are saying that will be a bit of a challenge. >> three key points to pay attention to here. the saudis are also expected to give president trump a royal welcome today. what can you tell us about that? >> if there's one thing saudis do well, it's pomp and circumstance. you've definitely seen that already with their arrival on the red carpet at the tarmac.

king salman went out to the airport himself to greet him at air force one. something he did not afford president obama when he arrived last year. this is a different tone. it's being cat gore ri ining cam as a reset. you see the military fly joefrs on the outside of the ritz carlton hotel, where the president is staying, a palatial hotel. they projected an image of donald trump and king salman on the outskirts of that hotel. they resident holding back on the pomp and circumstance to show they are welcoming him. the fact the saudi king was able to bring to the kingdom 37 heads of state, six heads of government, it shows you how much the saudis bent over backwards to make this a successful trip for president trump. they want him to feel like he's going to get a win. that's what they set out to do

by putting together this very busy schedule over the course of the next 24 hours or so. >> president trump will be making a speech tomorrow. what are you hearing about that and how much of a shift from his past rhetoric about islam is he actually expected to make? >> interesting. we'll see the kind of language he uses in that speech. keep in mind president trump as candidate trump really did not hold back his disdain for the religion, for islam, for muslims. in fact, he said all kinds of disparaging things people chash characterized outright -- he said -- he called for a complete ban of muslims coming into the united states. obviously, that was candidate trump. even as president, some people took offense with what they described as the muslim ban, that travel ban he tried to put in place. the speech this time around is

expected to be different. he's trying to make this about the civilized world against evil. he's not going to according to the drafts of that speech, he's trying to win over muslim countries. how that's going to play out will be interesting because the muslim world and the united states don't necessarily see eye to eye on the definition of this. president trump and the united states want countries like saudi arabia and others to do more to curb financing and funding. what they think may lead to extremist ideology, schools, ngos, charities across the world. that's something the saudis may not want to give up. that's part of their soft power, the fact they're involved in these. more importantly, you have another example. the united states more regionally, this is something on president trump's trip, he's going to israel and visiting the palestinian terts. hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the united states. qatar, which are allies, they don't consider them to be terrorists. there's going to be a lot of

challenges the united states tries to define what if considers to be terrorism and radical extremism and what arab and muslim countries will be able to offer in terms of fighting that ideology. there's going to be a lot of sticking points. look for this to be at least a reset of some sorts on that particular issue. >> certainly a lot on the table. stay with me. i want to bring in steve clemons, msnbc contributor and editor-at-large with "atlantic" magazine and colonel jackson, msnbc analyst. this welcome is vastly different from the welcome president obama got when he visited in april of 2016 when he was treated by the governor of riyadh. why do the saudis like trump better? did the air strike in syria possibly put president trump over the top? >> i think you nailed it. i think right now the saudis are trying to push reset with this white house. i think ayman described it beautifully that the saudis have been frustrated with the tilt

president obama's white house gave to iran or how they saw the tilt in orchestrating, negotiating the iran deal. whether you support it or not, nonetheless, it gave iran a pathway the saudis have resented and they thought the focus of the white house were too focused on the persian side of the equation and not the sunni/muslim side of equation which saudis are the recognized leader. i think they're trying to push reset. they've had several good meetings. the foreign minister has had a number of meetings with jared kushner, others in the white house. they're trying to put that forward. they're also trying to say, you know, anything they can show that is different than president obama, that the trump white house is willing to jump into as well. have you two parties trying to redefine the relationship right now. >> cole kel nell jacobs, one thing ayman mentioned is this big formal announcement. it's a $100 billion arms deal with saudi arabia. how will that affect the balance

in the region? >> positively from our standpoint. you know, there's been this battle in the region between iran and saudi arabia. it's been going on for a long time. and talking about $100 billion. it's liable to meet many times that if the saudis have their way. $00, maybe $300 billion or more. we're very much concerned that the capital ships the saw dudis have in the region, 25, 30 years old. they're not capable. the iranians have land-based anti-cruise missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles. they tested out their own navy to go down as far as southern africa. they would like to control the choke points at the persian gulf, which would make it extremely difficult for the world economy and for us and for saudi arabia. so, it is supposed to change the

balance of power in a positive way. not only ships but helicopters, cruise missiles and other munitions. not all will be delivered right away. over the long haul it will be a positive influence on our capability to control the region. >> steve, you mentioned this earlier, that the arms deal seems to have been hammered out by jared kushner who "the times" reports personally negotiated prices with lockheed martin. does that seem unusual? is he shaping the middle east here? >> he has a role. we don't know all the details. there's a lot of details i'm waiting to see. i'm waiting to see the offset arrangements are. that's a technical term, when foreign nations are using their tax dollars to buy our foreign systems, we obligate technology transfer, which on occasion has affected the american jobs that will be touted as part of this arms deal. there's a net loss in some capacities on this offset arrangement that go back into these countries.

we'll see if jared kushner had a role in that. one of the big concerns i have is the saudis have been advocates of arming some rebels inside syria with stinger missiles, surface-to-air missiles that we have been objecting to. we need to look at what we're giving the saudis and what if any limits we're putting on the saudis transferring these to parties in the middle east. we don't know that yet but i think we ought not just be rallying around president trump saying blindly, what a great deal because we need to understand more about how these weapon systems will be used and deployed by the saudis throughout the middle east. >> we're going to take a quick break. please, stick around. the reset in saudi arabia. what the saudis need to hear from president trump on his first foreign visit and why it's so different this time around than when president obama visited there. the author of a new op-ed on that very topic joins me next. thank you!

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moments from now we are expecting the official saudi welcoming ceremony for president trump to begin. this is a live picture around the saudi palace where that ceremony will be taking place. that was president trump arriving, the royal welcome. it's an attempted to turn the page between saudis and u.s. after relations faltered under the obama administration. joining me is executive director of the arabia foundation, author of a new op-ed in "the new york times" headlined what saudi arabia needs to hear from trump. great to have you here this morning. >> thank you. >> in your op-ed you say, the saudis will be listening intently this weekend for even more reassurance from mr. trump that the iran page has truly been turned and it's back on track. is that the main goal for saudi arabia, gaining assurances from trump on iran?

>> i think so. it's also the saudi government appreciates the symbolism of the visit. the fact president trump is coming there as his first visit abroad. the message it all sends to the american heartland that saudi arabia is a very close ally of america. with all the confusion that came out in the rhetoric of the campaign, and also the confusion generally over the past 10, 15 years since 9/11, i think the american public has been confused about saudi arabia's role. and having president trump, you know, had said a lot of negative things on the campaign. once he becomes president, deciding to come to saudi arabia as his first stop and reiterating the close relationship and for the american public to see the warmth that the president has received in saudi arabia, drives home the fact this is really a 75-year-old strategic relationship that has only grown stronger over the last 10, 15 years. military, security and intelligence. and i think that is being very

well received in saudi arabia. >> what messages are saudi leaders looking to hear from the president? >> i think a confirmation really of what the administration has expressed so far. so the administration has come around to the saudi view that iran is the major driver of insecurity in the region and, actually, is as dangerous as isis. and the administration has, in the person of their secretary of defense and national security advisers, have said that on numerous occasions. so, i think that appreciation of joint risk that we see coming from iran is very important. and we expect the president will be reiterating that. and the fact that the first line of defense really against terrorism starts with countries like saudi arabia that are on the front line of fighting terrorism.

saudi arabia is on the front line of fighting isis and is on the front line of fighting terrorism. the fact the president is coming there is a confirmation of that. >> and how will today's events be different from those that took place during former president obama's trips to saudi arabia? >> look, president obama, the problem with president obama is people in saudi arabia felt president obama underestimated the risk that the iranian regime showed really, or the underlying risk of iranian in the middle east. they feel iranians have a dog and pony show. they have a foreign minister and president that speak nicely with moderation but the people who really run iran, the supreme leader and revolutionary guard are working on subversion, from syria to yemen. there's discomfort that sort of

narrative and pr the iranians were projecting in a way was balked by the obama white house. >> i'm going to bring in my colleague, ayman mohyeldin for a minute. >> if i can ask you specifically about what the saudis would like to see the united states play particularly in the yemen theater, would they like to see the united states get involved military in yemen? what would be on the top of the list from the saudi king's perspective on what the united states can do to curb what you're describing as iran's subversive actions in the region? >> don't think there's any expectation the united states will have any boots on the ground. its the question of increased intelligence sharing and more maybe vigorous role by the u.s. navy to interdict iranian arms being smuggled from iran to yemen. i think those are the two. obviously, the supply of arms the obama administration had put those particularly certain

ammunitions -- precision ammunition on hold. and the trump administration has released those. so, i think that is what we're looking for really. nothing more elaborate than that. >> we're going to come back with a ceremony as it's about to begin. right now, what trump supporters in north carolina have to say about the last two weeks, especially about the russia probe. here's some of what you'll hear later this hour. >> i think it's a witch hunt and i think there may have been communication with russia. that is totally different from collaborating with russia. and i mean, we need to communicate with the other countries. (dog) mmm. this new

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welcome back. here at msnbc world headquarters in new york with special coverage of the president's first overseas visit. breaking overnight, the

president arrived in saudi arabia with a welcoming ceremony on the tarmac. the saudi king greeted the president. within minutes there will be a bigger welcoming ceremony at the saudi palace. it's about 1:30 in the afternoon in riyadh. president trump is halfway through the first day of his first overseas trip, but the saudis are not done celebrating his afrrival yet. what can you tell us about mr. trump's day so far? >> reporter: of course, you saw the welcoming reception we had at the airport earlier this morning. you saw later this afternoon we'll have another such welcoming reception. he has other meetings on his schedule today. he's meeting with crown prince as well as deputy crown prince and then another banquet meeting with his wife melania. one of the bigger attractions is the speech tomorrow to the muslim world. it's notable considering trump's past comments. the way he campaigned for president, largely islam phobic

terms. a lot of his supporters during the campaign telling me that kind of rhetoric is what mobilized them to vote for trump in the first place. of course, you'll also remember one of the first major actions his administration took once coming into washington in office is that travel executive order which targeting freedom nantly muslim countries and the way they could enter the united states. of course, the white house is hoping to reset a little bit of those muslim relations with his speech tomorrow. one adviser calling this an historic opportunity and saying that it's a chance to bring people together in spite of petty differences. that's something we're looking at as we go forward on this saudi arabia leg. >> and we saw the red carpet come out when the president arrived. now we're going to go on to another ceremony. is this what president trump expected on his visit is or is this a little more than what he anticipated? >> reporter: i think this pomp and circumstance is always something trump will be happy about. even as a candidate he used talk

about his gold elevator he came down to announce his candidacy. today i watched him go up another gold elevator to meet the king. i think this kind of luxuriousness he sees in saudi arabia is something he really likes, it resonates with him. you see it in his properties, the way he's been seefd today. i think this is something that will jibe well with the president. >> thank you for your time. for more on the president's first overseas trip, let's bring in rick tyler, republican strategist and msnbc political analyst. rick, before we get to more on the trip, what did you make of all those domestic headlines from last night we reported on a short time ago? which one of them concerns you most? >> well, it was quite remarkable as the president's plane was taking off for riyadh, you had two breaking stories. i think the story, of course, that the president called comey a nut job was embarrassing, to

say the least, but certainly the story that was reported about one senior administration official, some were speculating jared kushner, is the target of an investigation of -- in this whole russian investigation. >> rick, the president's going to be out of the country now for nine days. how is this going to reverberate back at the white house? these are huge headlines. >> they are large headlines. part of this nine-day trip to four different countries, which was really billed as a religious freedom trip. he's going to many of the religious centers of the world, rome, riyadh, and it was designed to replace all of these headlines. we'll see if it can do that or generate more headlines or the domestic headlines at home subsume the trip. >> which headline do you think will actually damage the

president the most? >> well, he'd certainly like to get this russian investigation behind him. in some ways the special counsel being appointed will settle things down a little bit. you notice nancy pelosi even yesterday was asking the democrats who may be overplaying their hand to tone it down a little bit and curb their enthusiasm. a special counsel is really problematic for the president. they have unilateral authority. they can't -- it's very difficult to derail or to fire the investigator. mueller is a man of integrity. i'm sure donald trump would love to hear all the things that have been said about mueller over the past few days about him. but will not be. and so, you know, it's more of a longer story that's going to hang on for a long time. if nothing comes of it, of course, there will be embarrassment on the democratic side. but it's fraught with the

addition the investigation itself is fraught with danger for this administration. >> there are reports of leaks coming from the west wing. it's not just reports of leaks from the intelligence community. do you think these leaks inside the white house surprise you? some things we're finding out couldn't have come from anywhere else. >> no, these leaks are coming from very senior people in the white house. it's really unclear who it is. the fact that the president, you know, had called former director a nut job to the russians, of all people, that could only have come from a senior-level source. and so, he's got a real problem with leaks. and the problem with leaks, leaks come for, you know, many different reasons. sometimes staffers love to see the stories they generate. other times it's sabotage that may be happening in this case. sometimes it's just to get the president's attention. >> overnight it was reported that the russia investigation has reached a current senior level white house official.

how significant is that and what are the immediate ramifications? >> well, i think it's very significant. any time you have a senior official under investigation, you had flynn originally, manafort is now under investigation. now there's a third person. some are speculating that it's his son-in-law, jared kushner. it could end up in nothing. but usually when people are targeted in an investigation, they have some clear and convincing evidence that there was some wrongdoing. so, we'll just have to see how it plays out. i take it this is an fbi investigation and not a special counsel investigation because i don't think even mueller could have gotten his investigation off the ground so quickly. but maybe i'm wrong about that. >> rick, sometimes trips for presidents overseas actually helps boost them when they come back. do you think this is actually going to help president trump or do you think it might actually do damage?

>> historically foreign trips do help presidents because you have -- you have an american president on the world stage, but it all depends on how they perform. donald trump is a brand manager. and the american brand, if you will, has really been damaged since he's been in the white house overseas. the american, as a brand name, if i can use that term, is seen with skepticism here in europe and throughout the world. but donald trump, you know, he does have the capacity. he could turn that around. if he acts presidential on this trip, and we can see some real progress with the saudis in tweeting isis, that would be one thing. with religious freedom in terms of meeting the pope, who he also was in an argument with, unbelievably, during the campaign. so, we'll see what he does. he just got started. he'll be in israel in a couple days. i'll be there as well so i'll keep track of how it's going.

>> an interesting nine days ahead. rick tyler, thank you for your time. >> yeah, absolutely. what trump supporters have to say about the past two weeks. msnbc spoke with several supporters in the state of north carolina. >> so, another thing i've heard from people, the second half of that, are people who do what we do, need to give him time. >> i personally think mainstream media is so critical of the man that he's not getting a fair deal. at the top of the hour, about a nut job. the new report about what president trump told the russians about firing former fbi director james comey. so if you need anything, text me. do you play? ♪ ♪ use the chase mobile app to send money in just a tap, to friends at more banks then ever before.

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break overnight. the president afshed in saudi arabia. we are now waiting in minutes a larger official welcoming ceremony at the saudi palace. so, what do voters have to say about the developments in the white house over the past two weeks? we sent msnbc's garrett to lincolnton, north carolina. >> what was it that attracted you to trump did the in the first place? >> i hated hillary. basically, my vote for trump was because i would not vote for hillary. >> what do you think of his performance so far? >> i think -- i think it's pretty -- it's decent, okay? i think he's trying to run the country like maybe he does his businesses. and as such, maybe, you know, he's not doing enough politic e

politicizing in d.c. and so forth and he's getting people dead set against him. but overall inc. he's doing an okay job. i think he's getting a bum rap. >> reporter: you don't think the media is giving him a fair take? >> i really don't. i really don't. >> reporter: how close have you been following this last week where it seems every day there's another big story, big leak about something russia or fbi-related? >> i mean, i've been following it. and i think, you know, there might be something to it. i think the russia thing there probably isn't anything to. >> reporter: last night the doj said they're going to appoint a special counsel to take over the russia investigation. >> right. >> reporter: what do you make of that? >> i think this is just part of the witch hunt. >> i think it's a witch hunt. i think there may have been communication with russia. that is totally different from collaborating with russia. i mean, we need to communicate with the other countries, but i do not think he is collaborating

with them against the country. i like president trump says he's going to drain the swamp. inc. there's a lot of corruption in washington and i would love to see that clear out. i think the people who are raising all this stink about him are the ones who are scared. they may be the slimy snakes that needs to be drained out. >> people in washington hate trump so much that they're willing to do anything to get him out. >> it may appear from certain per spepgss he's getting a raw deal but i think they're trying to hold him accountable. now i see him in action he seems more impulse sif than strategic and that concerns me. part of getting businesses back into our country also means we have to maintain foreign relations in a certain way because we're not just an island to ourselves. >> i think very with to give him the benefit of the doubt. he is the president. we have to hope he's going to do the best job for all of the american people, not just republicans.

>> reporter: how much attention are you paying to this week we've had in washington, d.c.? >> okay. i feel it is totally unfair. both sides need to come together and solve the problems of the country. >> the justice department appointed a special counsel to take over the russia investigation. what do you make of that? >> i think the liberals are so upset because they lost the election. liberals tend to it's their way or no way. i agree with the right to free speech, the right to protest, but when you disagree with something and you start wurning and looting and rioting, that's crossing a line. >> reporter: the president called the special counsel a witch hunt this morning. >> yes. how long have they been talking about the russian connection? there's some democrats on tv that there's no evidence and yet on the other hand if you look at hillary's e-mails, the meeting with bill clinton on the car

mack, but that's not being pursued sfloot other thing i've heard from people are the second half of that. we need to give him time. >> i personally think mainstream media is so critical of the man that he's not getting a fair deal. >> reporter: thank you very much. i won't take any of that mainstream media stuff too personally. president trump arriving in saudi arabia overnight. in minutes, we'll take you live to a welcoming ceremony at the saudi palace and talk about the expectations for his visit. and a speech he's going to give on islam. 12:30 eastern, catch premiere edition at "velshi & ruhle." what's that?

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welcome back to our special coverage of president trump's visit to saudi arabia. it is his first trip overseas.

the president arrived about four hours ago in saudi arabia. he was greeted on the tarmac by king salman. and right now, you see his car, his motorcade at the royal court. it is at the saudi royal palace where he will have a welcoming ceremony hosted by king salman. and this is the second welcoming ceremony, but this is a bigger, official welcoming ceremony here at the saudi royal palace. and joining me again, steve clem yoens with "atlantic magazine," alisha habi, colonel jack jacobs, and msnbc's aman moyahidin. what are we looking at here? >> you are looking at the beast, which is the presidential motorcade, that cadillac there, very distinct, being escorted by

members of the cavalry, the royal cavalry, an onary guard part of the royal court of the kingdom of saudi arabia. so as the -- and you're seeing there, kenging salman as well a the crown pribs making their way out to the red carpet to welcome president trump as he gets out of the limousine. but essentially, you're seeing a ceremonial welcome by -- and i would say a very traditional welcome by the leadership of saudi arabia to president trump. they're not holding anything back with that escort, as well. there is a very underlying message being sent to president trump that this literally and symbolically is the red carpet being rolled out for president trump to welcome him to saudi arabia. and it tells you -- it says a lot about president trump and how the saudis are viewing this relationship and this stage of

the american saudi relationship. but it also says a lot of how they view the end of president obama and that administration. so the fact that they are rolling this out, i would say this is very rare for the saudis. this would be almost the equivalent of a state visit here in the united states when the white house throws out and rolls out the red carpet to heads of state. this is probably the closest thing saudis have to it. nothing is being held back in terms of the pomp and circumstance of it. so we'll see how this continues. but as you mentioned, this is one of many palaces that the saudi government has and certainly there was the official ceremony at the airport welcoming president trump. but this is the one that's going to be a little bit more significant because you'll see senior members of the royal family, you'll see senior members of the diplomatic core, i believe, there. we've caught a quick glimpse of jared and ivanka trump, as well. you'll see the upper etch losh of the senior saudi government, ministers and all of them will be involved in welcoming

president trump. >> and ali, if you could weigh in here, how is this going to play out? how do you think that saudi arabia is viewing president trump and what do you think he's expected to accomplish during his trip to saudi arabia? >> well, i think the fact that he has come and the way that he has come has his first visit is an accomplishment in itself. and that's been very much appreciated because he's sending a message. and saudi arabia is reciprocating that message with a very warm welcome that they're extending him. you know, a welcome, as aman said, extending to your closest friends and allies. so i think, you know, the pivot that president trump has accomplished in his rhetoric and the fact that he has come to saudi arabia shows that he understands that, you know, islam and his muslim allies are the first line of defense, really, against the fight -- in the fight against terrorism and the symbolism of this and the fact that the american public is going to be seeing this on

television and the saudi public, also, is positive all around. >> and, steve, i'm going to ask you, saudi arabia is really rolling out the welcome mat for president trump. how do you think the rest of the world is viewing him right now? >> well, i think the rest of the world is looking at the saudis trying to resecure itself as a important -- in an important leadership role in the middle east. i think many around the world saw a rising iran and a floundering saudi arabia that was unable to shape its environment and to really control what was unfolding in the middle east. it felt its relationship with the united states waning. and so in this sculpting of the theater of a very renewed and strong and vibrant u.s.-saudi relationship which now will be permanently defining for donald trump, this is the first nation that he has visited outside the united states, they're trying to serve each other at the top of

their game. and i think you're going to see a lot of countries kind of doubt this, but impressed, nonetheless. >> we're going to take a few seconds just to listen in to the ceremony. ♪ ♪ >> a man, if you could way in on this, just a few months ago, president trump was trying to issue a travel ban to seven predominantly muslim can countries. now saudi arabia was not one of those countries, but how does this play out now? because a warm welcome today from leaders is there, but does the general public share the same sentiment? >> well, i think the underlying message is that the saudi relationship wants to put the comments and perhaps some of the policies of candidate trump or policies that he advocated really on the back burner. they want to try to find the commonalities, the shared interests between the two countries at this stage. you know, keep in mind that

president trump s -- and, again, as a private citizen as well as a candidate, had some very harsh words about the saudi leadership, about the saudi government, really did not hold back his punches when he suggested that they were involved in all kinds of nefarious activities around the world. in addition to that, he nanded and said that he wanted to get saudi oil for free at the one point back in 2014 tweeting that out. so obviously those are not lost on the saudi government. they're aware of that, but they're also aware of the reality that that's what he said to get elected, those are the things that they perhaps felt resinate with an american electric tore wrat. but now that he's there, that's why these images are so important because saudi arabia sees itself as a protector or one of the leading countries involved in the promotion of islam around the world, they see themselves as the voice of perhaps one of the strongest voices of speaking out on behalf of the sunni muslim world. that may not necessarily be something other countries agree with, but that's certainly the

role that saudi arabia traditionally has as the host of two of the most holiest sites in islam. so it has some role and that's something that the saudi arabia government takes very profoundly as its responsibility in dealing with the united states. . you talked about the travel ban that was issued. obviously, that was a very controversial decision here in the united states, challenged and successfully challenged in the courts. but it did not play well overseas. a lot of countries felt that this was a ban and while it wasn't a ban on all muslim countries, it was ban only on muslims. it certainly affected muslims coming out of very volatile countries across the region and that's how it was played out and people took offense to it. but the saudi arabian government today is trying to rehit a reset button on a more strategically important relationship with the united states. the argument that gulf officials have been making is to try to win over the support of the trump administration by showing the trump administration how important saudi arabia and the gulf arab countries are to the

united states, both militarily, securitywise, intelligencewise, but also economically. that's something that the president of the united states can understand, the language of economic trade, economic benefit is something that is going to be considered as a win because when we're talking about president trump certainly with foreign policy issues, things can be put in categories of wins and losses. so if you can come back from the saudi trip with hundreds of billions of dollars of arms sales, potentially billions of dollars of investments from saudi oil companies and energy companies, additional billions of dollars from other gulf abe rab countries, i understand the government is expected to make similar announcements in the coming weeks about potential investments in the united states. all of those can be translated back here domestically as a win that president trump went over there and was able to secure those billions of dollars of contracts. but the flip side to that is the saudis and the arab countries are going to expect trump to meet them on important issues. among them, you'll see