‘Unusual Accessory’: Fate of Saudi Glowing Orb That Trump Clutched Reportedly Revealed

A new book written by New York Times correspondent Ben Hubbard on the rise to power of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sheds light, among other things, on a mysterious glowing orb that Donald Trump, King Salman, and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi caressed in Riyadh’s Global Centre for Combating Extremist Ideology on POTUS’ first foreign trip in May 2017. The Guardian has obtained a copy of the book ahead of its release next week.

In the book, titled "MBS", Hubbard shares that as soon as the Saudis noticed US visitors posing for pictures with the orb while at the Centre, they decided to transfer it to the American Embassy instead. “An unusual accessory showed up in a hallway at the US embassy in Riyadh: one orb, slightly used”. However, it wasn't in public view for long there either:

“It sat in a hallway for a number of days, where diplomats passing by would pose for photos”, Hubbard writes, continuing that after a while, "the orb was hidden away in embassy storage”.

According to local media, as the three heads of state clutched the artefact, the gesture “officially activated” the Saudis’ new centre on battling extremism “and launched a splashy welcome video”.

Twitter, however, saw much wilder guesses at the time, with the sight of the three world leaders gripping netizens’ imagination:

“Orb is Bro spelled backwards”, one remarked, while others sounding no less ironic:

Quite a few, meanwhile, found the “orb of power” ceremony reminiscent of scenes from the Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and Star Wars, with respective images also ensuing.