First Lady Melania Trump made an interesting wardrobe choice on Tuesday night, donning an all green dress during a special White House dinner for the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Speculation arose that she wore the green dress as a sign of respect to the Prince, given the national colors of Saudi Arabia is green. The event included a military flyover, a black-tie quasi-state dinner, and various photo ops. Melania wore a strapless green gown taking her place next to her husband to greet the crown prince. The color wasn’t the only significant aspect of the dress, as it was made of jersey coated to resemble leather, ruched down the front, and sold for $3,350, designed by Lebanese designer Elie Saab.
During the visit, Trump discussed the sale of F-35s, military agreements, and the Abraham Accords. The two nations also signed a deal that calls for the Saudis to purchase nearly 300 tanks from the U.S. Trump announced he was designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, a largely symbolic move that gives foreign partners some defense, trade, and security cooperation benefits. The White House rolled out plenty of pomp for the Saudi royal on Tuesday, dispatching fighter jets that the two leaders watched from a red carpet, parading out an honor guard on horseback, and giving a lavish dinner in the East Room.
The meeting included numerous handshakes and back pats, with Trump brushing aside questions about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, praising the prince for his statesmanship, and announcing hundreds of billions of dollars in new Saudi investment in the U.S. Israeli officials suggested they would not be opposed to Saudi Arabia getting F-35s as long as Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords framework. The Saudis have said they would join the Abraham Accords but only after there is a credible and guaranteed path to Palestinian statehood, a position Prince Mohammad repeated in the meeting. Trump also mentioned the U.S. and Saudi Arabia would complete a broader agreement on military and security issues during the visit and that the U.S. would proceed with a civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, about which Israel also has raised concerns.