The first stop on Donald Trump’s overseas tour ended largely without incident. No one understands what was up with that orb, but in general, the American president did not cause any diplomatic crises during his brief trip to Saudi Arabia. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appeared on CNBC this morning to boast about how well it went. In fact, he offered proof that Trump’s first stop went off without a hitch: “[The] thing that was fascinating to me, there was not a single hint of a protestor anywhere there during the whole time we were there. Not one guy with a bad placard.” At that point, the CNBC host interjected, reminding the secretary of Commerce that Saudis may have wanted to protest Trump, but local citizens aren’t allowed to express such criticisms publicly. “In theory, that could be true,” Ross responded, “but boy there was certainly no sign of it.” The cabinet secretary then proceeded to brag some more about how smoothly everything went in the authoritarian country – including some “gigantic bushels of dates” he received as a gift from people he identified as Saudi security guards. Someone might want to remind Ross that Saudi Arabia banned all protests and marches years ago. BBC News reported six years ago this month that a statement was read on state television that said “security forces would use all measures to prevent any attempt to disrupt public order.” Read more http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-...s-lack-protests-saudi-arabia?cid=sm_fb_maddow
