From F.D.R. to Trump, presidents have traveled to see Saudi Arabia and its royal family on a variety of diplomatic missions, some more inscrutable than others.
American presidents have been visiting Saudi Arabia for decades, and the trips have often produced memorable moments — some dramatic, others downright odd.
As President Trump returns to Saudi Arabia, here is a look back at four moments from past presidential trips to visit leaders of the oil-rich Gulf state.
2022: The Biden Fist Bump
The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia appeared to be wilting before President Joseph R. Biden Jr. visited Jeddah in 2022.
Mr. Biden, as a candidate in 2019, had vowed to turn Saudi Arabia into a “pariah” over the killing of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the C.I.A. said had been ordered by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
But as Mr. Biden worked in 2022 to manage oil prices, which spiked after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the president took a different tack. Arriving at the Royal Palace, Mr. Biden, grinning slightly, gave the crown prince a fist bump as a bank of cameras rolled.
The Saudi government quickly posted an image of the fist bump on social media. Mr. Biden later told reporters that he had privately confronted Prince Mohammed about the killing, and that the prince “basically said that he was not personally responsible for it.”
Back in Washington, Mr. Biden became impatient when pressed on the fist bump. “Why don’t you guys talk about something that matters?” he chided a reporter.