A photograph of President Donald Trump along with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Egyptian President Fatah al-Sisi is trending on social media.
The three men were photographed
Sunday with their hands on a glowing orb at the opening of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The center will work to monitor extremist messages by analyzing online posts in real time.
The photo showed the men in a room where the lights had been dimmed as they “activated” the technology in the new center by placing their hands on a lighted world globe. According to the Saudi Gazette, the men kept their hands on the globe for roughly 4 minutes.
Many Twitter users compared Trump and the other two leaders to movie or comic book rogues, while others simply wondered what the lighted globe was.
It didn't take long for #orb to begin trending on Twitter.
Where have I seen that #TrumpInSaudi #Orb before? Oh yeah... pic.twitter.com/UegLaV0Ofu
— Josh (@anearbyjosh) May 22, 2017
Just some billionaires, gathered in the dark, holding a glowing orb.#trump #orb pic.twitter.com/Os5sgwmnPE
— Kelly (@_itsmekt) May 22, 2017
I hate to be in the position of defending the man, but, you know, this whole #orb thing could have been much worse... pic.twitter.com/wa7zYnAn1y
— Paul Melancon (@PaulMelancon) May 21, 2017
I knew I'd seen this before.. #orb pic.twitter.com/pUDG2RRxrP
— cinegirl 14📺🌈 (@cinegirl14) May 22, 2017
it's totally the Orb of Peace from the end of The Phantom Menace pic.twitter.com/KuBEIfKWdY
— Will (@historicus91) May 21, 2017
Saudi Arabia was the first stop on Trump’s overseas tour. He is in Israel on Monday and will visit Vatican City, Brussels, and Sicily before returning to the United States.
Cox Media Group