US first lady Melania Trump stepped off Air Force One in Riyadh on Saturday conservatively dressed in long sleeves and pants, to conform to the strict dress code Saudi Arabia enforces for its female citizens. One thing was missing: a headscarf.

Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, an assistant to her father who is accompanying him on his trip, also did not cover her head.

Under the kingdom’s strict dress code for women, 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 covering one’s head is not required for foreigners.

Nevertheless, the issue had potential to cause embarrassment for Trump, whose long trail of Twitter messages often comes back to haunt him. Two years ago, he tweeted his displeasure over Michelle Obama’s decision to appear bare-headed in the kingdom.

“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,” he tweeted, using a short-hand spelling for “enough”.

Saudi Arabia is the first stop on a four-nation, five-stop tour that will also take in Israel, Italy and Belgium before Trump returns to the White House at the end of next week.



Earlier this year, British prime minister Theresa May and German chancellor Angela Merkel also went without head coverings in Saudi Arabia, showing how common it is for high-level female visitors to skip wearing a headscarf or an abaya.



Michelle Obama did not cover her head when she accompanied Barack Obama on a condolence visit in January 2015 after the death of King Abdullah. Laura Bush generally went without covering her head, though she once briefly donned a head scarf she received as a gift.

As Obama’s secretary of state, Hillary Clinton did not cover her head on visits to Saudi Arabia.