First lady keeps head uncovered during Saudi Arabia visit
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Ignoring her husband’s past admonition, first lady Melania Trump did not cover her head Saturday when she and the president arrived in Saudi Arabia on the opening leg of his first international tour since taking office.
Two years ago, then citizen Donald Trump criticized then-first lady Michelle Obama’s decision to go bare-headed on a January 2015 visit with her husband.
“Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs. Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted. We have enuf enemies,” Trump tweeted at the time, including a short-hand spelling for “enough.”
Under the kingdom’s strict rules, Saudi women and most female visitors are required to wear a loose, black robe known as an abaya in public. Most women in Saudi Arabia also cover their hair and face with a veil known as the niqab.
But head coverings aren’t required for foreigners, and most Western women go without.
While Mrs. Trump dressed conservatively Saturday in a long-sleeved, black pantsuit accented with a wide, gold-colored belt, her below-the-shoulder brown hair blew in the breeze at King Khalid International Airport in the capital city of Riyadh.
She followed the example set by other high-profile Western women, including Mrs. Obama, British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Then-first lady Laura Bush went without covering her head, though she once briefly donned a headscarf that she received as a gift. Hillary Clinton, on trips to Saudi Arabia as Obama’s secretary of state, also did not cover her head.
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, a senior White House adviser who is also accompanying her father, also left her head uncovered.