Dance your troubles away! Team Trump let their hair down on first night of international tour as they take part in traditional sword dance in Saudi Arabia

Team Trump have let their hair down on the first night in Saudi Arabia by taking part in a traditional sword dance.

President Donald Trump was spotted swaying and smiling as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Saudis for the ceremonial male-only sword dance on Saturday.

Trump's Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were more inclined to get involved as they linked arms with the men next to them and awkwardly danced to the drum beats as they held their swords

The dance took place outside the King Abdulaziz Historical Center as First Lady Melania Trump, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka watched on.

While Trump's Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon also made a brief appearance, they didn't appear to join in the ceremonial dancing.

The welcome took place before a state dinner in Trump's honor with the Saudi king and other senior Saudi royals.

The menu was set to include an array of dishes, including steak and ketchup alongside lamb and hefty portions of rice.

It comes after the Trumps were greeted by the Saudi king and a long red carpet when they landed in the capital, Riyadh, for the president's first overseas visit in office.

He touched down in the Middle East Saturday morning, hours after tweeting about his excitement for his first 'big foreign trip.'

Trump flew to Riyadh overnight on Air Force One – becoming the only president to make Saudi Arabia, or any majority Muslim country, his first stop overseas as president.

His arrival following a 6,700-mile flight was met with the pomp usually reserved for the likes of a Papal welcome in South America.

The president got the red carpet treatment – literally – and some airport workers took off their shoes before manicuring it with brooms in 97-degree heat.

The Saudi King later presented Trump with the kingdom's top civilian honor, the gold King Abdulaziz medal, at the royal court.

Trump later said the first day of his maiden international trip had been 'tremendous.' He was largely kept away from reporters during a busy day of meetings and ceremonies in Riyadh.

He said deals the US government and private sector reached would lead to 'tremendous investments' in the United States. He said the deals will also create 'jobs, jobs, jobs.'

Trump has agreed to a defense cooperation deal with the Saudis, pledging $110 billion effective immediately and up to $350 billion over 10 years. There are some private sector agreements, too.

The military package includes tanks, combat ships, missile defense systems, radar and communications, and cybersecurity technology.

Trump will face questions over the weekend about the wisdom of establishing partnerships with a government known for human rights violations and for its Medieval treatment of women.

Females cannot drive cars in the kingdom, and their every move, from travel to shopping, is overseen by male family members.

On Saturday the only females seen among the welcome retinue were a pair of small girls presenting flowers and an African-American woman, who turned out to be a U.S. Secret Service agent. 

Melania and Ivanka Trump seemed determine to make a statement by deplaning without head coverings, a rare sight among women in Riyadh whose main choices are the hijab and the niqab.

Still, the first lady stayed a half-dozen steps behind King Salman and her husband, escorted by a lone U.S. Marine in full dress uniform, as she stepped off Air Force One. 

After a welcome ceremony inside the Royal Terminal, Trump and Salman sat together in 'The Beast,' the White House's armored SUV that travels in the belly of Air Force One. 

The first stop was the glitzy Ritz-Carlton, whose exterior is being lit up at night with giant projected images of the American flag.

Trump's first overseas speech is expected to frame the global fight against ISIS and other Islamist terror groups as a 'battle between good and evil' – but early drafts suggest he will not use the phrase 'radical Islamic terrorism.'

He will also call on leaders in the Middle East to 'drive out terrorists from your places of worship.'

Signs of American caution are everywhere as the president who once campaigned on the strength of excluding Muslims from the U.S. ventured into the nation whose king partners in construction with the Bin Laden Group.

U.S. military snipers stood guard on nearby jetways. A duplicate Air Force One 747 jet stood by, lest Trump's schedule should be waylaid by engine trouble.

Wearing a dark suit and a bright blue tie, the president descended stairs from his exclusive plane with first lady Melania Trump, after staff including his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner – arm in arm – exited from the rear of the aircraft

Trump bantered with the king about the Cleveland Clinic, which a previous Saudi monarch chose for cardiac surgery in the 1970s. 

The American president began his improbable rise to power descending an escalator, arriving at the lobby of his Trump Tower skyscraper with no idea where he would be 22 months later.

On Saturday he ascended a different escalator leading from the airport tarmac to the king's sumptuous royal terminal, waiting for his foreign policy adventures to begin.

His first gesture to the press, the hated 'dishonest media,' was a trademark thumbs-up as the escalator climbed. The gesture is regarded in much of the Arab world as a vulgar sexual insult, although many in Saudi Arabia dispute that. 

The president's stop in Saudi Arabia kicks off an ambitious international debut.

He will travel next to Israel, have an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican, and meet with allies at a NATO summit in Brussels and the Group of 7 wealthy nations in Sicily. 

For a president who campaigned on an 'America First' platform, the trip is a crucial moment for U.S. allies to size up his commitment to decades-long partnerships.

'President Trump understands that America First does not mean America alone,' said H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser.

'Prioritising American interests means strengthening alliances and partnerships that help us extend our influence and improve the security of the American people.' 

His critics expect a rocky week ahead for the china-shop bull Americans elected in November. 

During his tour, Trump will deliver a high-stakes speech about Islam in the heart of Saudi Arabia, meet with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nemesis Mahmoud Abbas and take in an audience with Pope Francis.

And that's before a NATO summit and a meeting of the G7 leaders.

Trump's itinerary is heavy with religious symbolism. He'll visit the birthplace of Islam, the Jewish homeland and the Vatican. Officials say the message is 'unity.'

'He strongly believes that it is the strength of the faith of people in these religions that will stand up and ultimately be victorious over ... forces of terrorism,' Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said. 

White House officials hope the trip marks an opportunity for Trump to recalibrate after one of the most difficult stretches of his new presidency.

The White House badly bungled the president's stunning firing of FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing the federal investigation into possible ties between Trump's campaign and Russia.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department relented to calls from Democrats to name a special counsel, tapping former FBI chief Robert Mueller to lead the probe.

As Trump flew to Saudi Arabia, more reports stemming from the Russia investigation surfaced.

The New York Times reported that Trump called Comey 'a real nut job' while discussing the ongoing investigation with two Russian officials visiting the White House earlier this month.

He also told them that firing Comey had 'taken off' the 'great pressure' he was feeling from the investigation, the Times reported.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that an unidentified senior Trump adviser was being considered a 'person of interest' in the law enforcement investigation.

In addition, Comey agreed to testify at an open hearing of the Senate intelligence committee in the near future, the panel said.

Despite his domestic troubles, Trump was expected to get a warm reception in Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom's ruling family grew deeply frustrated with former President Barack Obama's detente with Iran and his restrained approach to the conflict in Syria.

In a sweetener for Saudi Arabia, U.S. officials said the Trump administration plans to announce $110 billion in advanced military equipment sales and training to the kingdom during the president's trip.

The package includes tanks, combat ships, missile defense systems, radar and communications and cyber security technology.

Trump will spend much of Saturday meeting with King Salman and other members of the royal family, culminating with a banquet dinner at the Murabba Palace.

On Sunday, he'll hold meetings with more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders heading converging on Riyadh for a regional summit focused largely on combating the Islamic State and other extremist groups.

Trump dodged one potential land mine when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted on war crime and genocide charges, announced that he would not attend the summit for personal reasons.

The centerpiece of Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia will be a speech Sunday at the Arab-Islamic-American summit.

White House aides view the address as a counter to Obama's 2009 speech to the Muslim world, which Trump advisers view as too apologetic for U.S. actions in the region.

Mail Online