US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka has taken Saudi Arabia by storm ever since she disembarked from Air Force One in Riyadh Saturday morning.
The hashtag #Trump’s_daughter, in Arabic, is the top trending hashtag in the country as Twitter fans heaped praise on the first daughter.
Ivanka, who is set to take part in roundtable discussions during the president’s first official visit abroad, wore a long navy dress as she arrived in Saudi Arabia as part of the US delegation.Rest assured they know her religion. And her participation in the talks gets noticed by Saudi women, as the official press (as well as Arab News) went all-in on praising Trump's visit.
They also love Melania.
Diplomacy is more than words, and meetings, and state visits. It is visual. It is non-verbal communication. It is protocol and nuance and breaking convention.
Families matter in Saudi Arabia, as they do in most parts of the world. Trump's ability to present himself as the patriarch of a family of successful people, including strong women, enhances his esteem, which gives him an authority that Obama lacked.
Trump can deliver the message Saudis need to hear because he is the real deal.
CW, I know I don't you link on my blog much, but DO I link you on my Facebook page nearly every day. I doubt if it has much effect on your numbers, but I thought I'd let you know anyway.
ReplyDeleteI do get traffic from Facebook, although my counter doesn't tell me specifically where that traffic is coming from, but it's probably you! Thanks much, and now I'll have to check out your Facebook page ( I don't have one myself - I know, I'm a dinosaur).
DeleteI can't say as Michelle Obama was perceived as much more than a shrewish, bullying, angry black woman (who might have started off as a man for all I know) -- everywhere but on the mainstream media, where she was adored.
ReplyDeleteMelania and Ivanka are the polar opposite.
After Trump attacked the Assad regime, I heard that the Sunnis were calling him "Abu Ivanka," so I gather they have a sort of teenager style crush on his women.
DeleteThis may- and I sure hope it does- engender more respect for strong, self-assertive women in the Middle East. We couldn't have better female ambassadors than Melania and Ivanka: beautiful, intelligent, self-assured and unflappable.
ReplyDeleteIt is novel in that part of the world for the leaders to outwardly exhibit respect for any woman, and to have the King of Saud publicly shake Melania's hand was electrifying and (hopefully!) eye-opening for many!
The respect shown to our President and his family was overwhelming, and so gratifying. (Especially after Zero with his black heart and his grovelling.)