When Donald Trump was sworn in the White House, this Arabic daily extensively highlighted the historic event conveying the Saudi King Salman’s congratulations to President Trump, not only in the full-page advertisements but also in editorials and opinion pages.

The broader picture of the fledgling relation with the new US administration and its political dynamics that the Saudi Arabic media paints, rings true, and confirm the impressions of the closest observers. Various Arabic newspapers in Saudi Arabia produce an analysis which seems on target, though it may not be entirely credible.

Let’s begin with 'Al-Jazirah' (الجزيرة), the Arabic media outlet in Saudi Arabia which has the only daily afternoon newspaper in the country with sizeable readership. When Donald Trump was sworn in the White House, this Arabic daily extensively highlighted the historic event conveying the Saudi King Salman’s congratulations to President Trump, not only in the full-page advertisements but also in editorials and opinion pages.

In its editions on last Fridays and Sundays, it dedicated most pages to develop an idea of how Trump’s administration would shape the US-Saudi ties. Among the most discussed issues were the pledged embassy move to Jerusalem and rising hopes for strategic cooperation in the wake of Trump's alliance with Putin. “The importance of developing relations (between the US and Saudi governments) relies on an overall strategy that serves our common interests”, wrote the Arabic daily newspaper.

However, one of Al-Jazeera's sister newspapers, Al-Masaiya, repeatedly discussed in its editorials and op-ed pieces the pre-conceived challenges that the new US administration might pose to the Arab world.

Another prominent pro-government Arabic daily in Saudi Arabia, Al Watan has candidly revealed the untold truth. It carried several reports to unravel that Riyadh shows great optimism about the new US President Trump's administration, urging other Arab nations not to be worried or pessimistic about the “newly elected leader of the free world’s policies”. According to this Arabic daily, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir has announced that the kingdom is eagerly looking forward to work with the new American administration.

This media depiction is echoed in another Arabic newspaper in Saudi Arabia, Ukaz (صحيفة عكاظ) — the Mecca-based prominent daily newspaper. It seems to endorse the latter newspaper’s standpoint, as it writes in its editorial: “We need to find friends on the [American] President’s staff that will have influence as to whether the world power will be on your side or against us. We should not forget to work in accordance with our interests”

Buttressing the point that the new US President’s administration continues to uphold America’s democratic values, constitution and laws, Ukaz wrote on 9 November, 2016 in the wake of Trump’s win in the presidential election:

“This is America, and this is the real democracy anywhere in the world. Here we witness and understand the practical realization of the concept of orderly transition of power… The [presidential] elections i[in 2016] were historic in the truest sense. After this important historic event occurred, life across the America continues normally. There is no state of emergency, no disruption of business or public services and the country does not become a military camp…..“This is how transition of power takes place in countries that respect their constitution and laws, apply democracy and implement it in a dignified manner.”

One more Saudi Arabic newspaper like Ukaz, Al-Hayat (جريدة الحياة) — one of the pan-Arab dailies funded by the Saudi kingdom— has heaped high praises on the newly established American administration.

Generally, the Arabic press does not offer dissenting views on the serious geopolitical issues such as this. However, there is a certain amount of criticism targeted at Trump’s highly controversial administration. Presenting an overview of the past 8 years of the American administration in the tenure of the Ex-President Barak Obama and contrasting it with the new US administration of President Donald Trump, al-Hayat carried an opinion piece which reads: “Although Trump wants to have a more assertive policy, he will not be able to bring America back as the most powerful regional player. The Americans can’t become the whole and sole superpower again”…. “In order to pave a way for an American role in the upcoming years, the new US President’s administration needs vision and imagination. If you don’t have this vision, you might find yourself in confrontation”.

There was an interesting media depiction of Trump’s triumph in the presidential election which was seen in a few Arabic news outlets. That is, the Arabic media portrayal of the popular impression of the Arabs who preferred Trump over Clinton, but for diametrically different reasons. On November 2, 2016, the popular online news media outlet in Saudi Arabia, Rai' Alyoum (راي اليوم) wrote in an editorial: “the mainstream Arab nationals prefer Trump’s triumph in the US elections (over Clinton)”.

For they have developed an impression that Trump would "lead America to the deterioration, disintegration and an inevitable destruction". This media portrayal might interest those who can recall the recent surprising news that not only the Republicans, but even Islamic State was grounding for Trump’s victory, as an earlier Firstpost article conveyed.

Interestingly enough, the Islamic State’s jihadists were cheering for Trump with the same popular Arab perception that this Republican American President would lead the US on a path of “self-destruction”. Furthermore, the ISIS held the belief that Trump’s presidency would be a powerful recruiting tool for the jihadist cult. For, they planned to recruit the gullible Muslim youths from across the world employing the ‘Islamophobic’ rhetoric of the superpower president.

Contrary to the Saudi Arabic press, the news media in other Arab countries is considerably critical of the new US administration. They project a view which is cynical about the construction of amicable ties between the US and the wider Arab world. Of late, several editorials and articles published articles in their latest editions lambasting the President Trump’s signing the executive order to ban the Muslim immigration. Recently, in a sweeping crackdown on the ‘radical Islamists’, President Trump is reported to have denied the entry for nationals from seven Muslims countries into the US.

The well-known Arabic media outlets such as UAE’s Al-Khaleej (الخليج) and Al-Ittihad (جريدة الاتحاد), Egypt’s Al-Ahram al-Yaumi ( الأهرام اليومي), Palestine’s Al-Quds (القدس) and the Jordanian Arabic newspaper Al-Ghad’ (جريدة الغد) have strongly castigated Trump's Muslim ban which is proposed in the name of anti-terror security sweep.

The noted Arab editors have expressed "deep regrets" over Trump's order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries. They believe that the US ban on Muslim immigration will damage the genuine global war on terrorism.

In a similar tone and tenor, media outlets in other parts of the Muslim world have unwelcomed Trump’s recent move. Prominent newspapers in both the largest Muslim-populated country in the world—Indonesia which mostly comprises of Sunni Muslims—and the Shia-majority Muslim country—Iran— have also criticised Trump’s decision.

The author is a cultural analyst and researcher in Media and Communication Studies. You can email him at grdehlavi@gmail.com