If Washington is a Swamp, Then the Middle East is the Everglades, and the Alligators Rolled Out the Red Carpet

President Trump with Saudi King Salman (at right) 

after arriving in Riyadh. (Bandar Algoud/Reuters)

‘We just got back from the Middle East,” President Trump said to the president of Israel after his flight from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Tel Aviv, which is also in the Middle East.

As Trumpisms go, this one is easy to forgive, particularly given how exhausted the president must have been after a weekend of jet-lagged diplomacy, (non-alcoholic) bacchanalia, and sword dancing. But it does speak to a larger truth. The president was a stranger in a strange land, a region of ancient conflicts and complex political intrigues.

We have seen the president struggle with the “swamp” in Washington. Well, if Washington is a swamp, then the Middle East is the Everglades, and the alligators rolled out the red carpet.

The king of Saudi Arabia greeted Trump at the airport, a gesture ostentatiously denied President Obama. On the drive from the airport the streets were lined with American flags, and Trump’s face was beamed onto the side of a building.

At the Riyadh summit, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the authoritarian leader of Egypt, invited the president to visit his country, adding, “You are a unique personality that is capable of doing the impossible.”

Trump replied, “I agree,” to diversely interpretable laughter. He also returned the compliment. “Love your shoes. Boy, those shoes. Man!”

In short, the Arab leaders, hardly inexperienced in lavishing praise on men who crave it, have the president’s number. --->

Read the rest from Jonah Goldberg HERE and follow links to related stories below:

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