SAUDI ARABIA (REUTERS) - An evening of dancing with swords for US President Donald Trump and his family who were welcomed to Saudi Arabia by the royal family.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross joined in the festivities.

Dogged by controversy at home, Trump won a warm reception in Saudi Arabia on Saturday but struggled to shift attention from the political firestorm over his firing of former FBI Director James Comey.

A $110 billion (S$152 billion) deal in which Saudi Arabia will buy US arms to help it counter Iran, with options for as much as $350 billion over 10 years, was the central achievement of Trump's first day in Riyadh, first stop on a nine-day journey through the Middle East and Europe. But the turmoil back home consumed the headlines and cast a long shadow over his first foreign trip as president.