Trump in Saudi Arabia. (Getty)
President Donald Trump is being accused of hypocrisy after photos and a video showed him “bowing” to the king of Saudi Arabia.
At least that was the interpretation of some. You can watch the video for yourself below and determine whether Trump really bowed or bent over because he was a lot taller than his Saudi host.
WATCH: President Trump is presented with a gold collar during a welcoming ceremony at the Royal Diwan, Saudi Arabia. t.co/SPFixxlikw
It looked even more like a bow in still photos of the moment. Here’s a wider view:
Trump and the Saudi King. (Getty)
And fuller views of the closer one:
US President Donald Trump (C) receives the Order of Abdulaziz al-Saud medal from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (R) at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh on May 20, 2017.(Getty)
And this look:
Trump in Saudi Arabia. (Getty)
Trump, who is on his first foreign trip, once criticized President Barack Obama for bowing to the Saudis.
Last words from @POTUS before deplaning Air Force One: “I catch one American bowing here and you’re on the next Saudia flight home”…
People dredged up his old tweets.
Earlier in the day, Trump received praise from conservative media outlets for not bowing when the king greeted him at the Riyadh airport.
Fox News reported that Trump shook hands with the Saudi King, and “did not bow to the Gulf leader as former President Barack Obama appeared to do — a move interpreted as American weakness.” However, that was just the initial greeting, which occurred on the steps of Air Force One at the airport.
Trump supporters leapt on that moment to criticize Obama.
Unlike Obama, Trump bows to no one! Finally, we have leadership and strength back in the White House! #RiyadhSummit #SaturdayMorning
Maybe they spoke too soon.
Trump was later accused by critics of appearing to bow later in the day during a ceremony on May 20 in which Saudi Arabia King Salman presented Trump “with the King Abdulaziz al Saud Collar, the kingdom’s highest civilian honor,” reports AOL.
Even some former associates of Trump were displeased.
Candidly this makes me want to puke #JaredsIdea
However, other Trump supporters insisted he didn’t bow. He is just taller and had to bend over so the Saudi could put the necklace on him, they said.
One reporter wondered if it was more like a “little bop” or “curtsy.”
what would we call this? a bow? a little bop? a…curtsy?
Others felt he bowed more than Obama during the same moment.
Others feel it was always a made-up controversy both when Obama did it and when Trump appeared to bow. Far more importantly: While in Saudia Arabia, Trump “sealed a $110 billion arms deal” with the country, according to Reuters. The president’s foreign trip came amidst controversy over his firing of FBI Director James Comey.
“The arms deal, plus other investments that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said could total up to $350 billion, was the central achievement of Trump’s first day in Riyadh,” reported Reuters.
Reuters and other media outlets reported that Trump received a warm welcome in Saudi Arabia.
Trump was on the first leg of a nine-state trip that will also take the president to Israel, Vatican City, and Brussels.
It was the second time the president was accused of a double standard on the Saudi Arabia trip. First Lady Melania Trump and First Daughter Ivanka Trump, who accompanied the president, did not wear head scarves, although Donald Trump once criticized Michelle Obama for not wearing a headscarf during a 2015 trip to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (R), US President Donald Trump (2nd L) and US First Lady Melania Trump make their way into a gallery to see a display of Saudi modern art at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh on May 20, 2017. (Getty)
Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner, and other top advisers to the president were also in Saudi Arabia.
You can see photos of Melania Trump in Saudi Arabia here:
