BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

'Fire burn and cauldron bubble': Trump and the glowing orb

  • Published
    22 May 2017
Share page
About sharing
US President Donald J. Trump (R), US First Lady Melania Trump (R-2), King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia (C) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L) opening the World Center for Countering Extremist Thought in Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaImage source, European Photopress Agency
Image caption,

The sight of President Trump and his Saudi and Egyptian counterparts around a glowing orb has sparked online jokes

ByLamia Estatie
BBC News

An image of US President Donald Trump with his hands placed over a glowing white orb alongside Saudi King Salman and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is lighting up social media.

On Sunday, the leaders inaugurated a new centre in Riyadh aimed at combating extremist ideology. Mr Trump was on his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia where he urged regional leaders to take the lead in rooting out radicalisation.

Trump has since arrived in Israel where he will be meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Trump urges Muslim leaders to lead fight against radicalisation

Trump in Saudi Arabia: US president joins ceremonial sword dance

Among the numerous photoshops and captions of the event shared online were the opening lyrics, external from The Song of the Witches in William Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Screen grab of tweet by @BillKristolImage source, Saudi Arabia TV/Twitter/@BillKristol

As President Trump's eyes were closed in the widely shared screen grab, one Twitter user guessed, external the president was making a wish.

"For clarification, this is not a Satanic ritual," tweeted, external the Church of Satan, an international religious movement based on LaVeyan Satanism.

Screen grab of tweet by @ChurchofSatanImage source, Saudi Arabia TV/Twitter/@ChurchofSatan

While comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani joked the lit ball was the "Glowing Orb of Islamic Dominance", external, another Twitter user likened, external it to the Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the next instalment of which "looks terrible," said, external musician Mikel Jollett.

Screen grab of tweet by @darthImage source, Saudi Arabia TV/Twitter/@darth

Scenes from the 1997 film Space Jam, external, Harry Potter, external and the 007, external film series were also referenced: "The point when the supervillains form a pact to take over the world."

Screen grab of tweet by @NickGreeneImage source, Saudi Arabia TV/Twitter/@NickGreene

You may also like:

  • 'Trump, servant of God': How Saudis are viewing his visit

  • Israeli minister's "Jerusalem dress" redesigned

  • ITV Leaders' debate: Paul, Leanne and... Natalie?

"Just some billionaires gathering in the dark and holding a glowing orb, probably fine," another user suggested, external.

One Twitter account shared, external a fake tweet by President Trump, which said: "Cyrus the Great was buried in a sceptre of tremendous power. I, king of the New World, command my people to find his tomb and recover his sceptre. None shall sleep until the sceptre is found!"

Naturally, there had to be a fabricated response, external from a Trump critic:

A fabricated tweet by Donald Trump, posted by Pixelated Boat, is met with a fabricated response from the ACLU, posted by reggiereggieImage source, Twitter

Despite the jokes, a supporter of President Trump who spent two years "working to defeat Hillary" said, external he preferred the orb to an image of Clinton altered to show her using the Sith power of force lightning from Star Wars.

By the UGC and Social News team

More on this story

  • Trump's visit galvanises Saudi tweeters

    • Published
      20 May 2017
    Photoshopped image of Donald Trump as a Saudi cleric
  • Trump abroad: What's on the agenda?

    • Published
      21 May 2017
    US President Donald Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: 21 May 2017
  • Trump to Muslims: Drive extremists out

    • Published
      22 May 2017
    Donald Trump speaking in Riyadh (21 May)

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Trump says first phase of Gaza peace deal agreed, paving way for hostage and prisoner releases

    • 4822 viewing4.8k viewing
  • 'Half my mind is still in Gaza': Evacuated teacher begins studies in UK

    • Published
      2 hours ago
  • America's top banker sounds warning on US stock market fall

    • Published
      2 hours ago

More to explore

  • 'Half my mind is still in Gaza': Evacuated teacher begins studies in UK

    Sana el-Azab is sitting on a wall circling Durham Cathedral. She is smiling and is doing a peace sign with her hands.
  • 'I'll axe stamp duty' and 'My Maddie hoax agony'

    Newspaper headlines: Tories vow to scrap stamp duty and Madeline McCann's parents give testimony in alleged stalking case
  • 'I cried every day': Victoria Beckham tells of fashion woes in new Netflix doc

    Victoria Beckham in a green dress
  • Stars, secrets and slip-ups: Celebrity Traitors is off to a cracking start

    Alan Carr and Claudia Winkleman on the Celebrity Traitors
  • How Britain's membership of the ECHR became a political hot potato

    Montage image showing Nigel Farage, Kemi Badenoch and Sir Keir Starmer
  • The battle for Scotland's flag: Why the right has adopted the saltire

    A man raises his fist while standing in front of a group of people waving flags, including saltires and a union flag.
  • Have Russians set up a military base in my childhood home?

    Satellite image shows evidence of Russians using a BBC reporter's childhood home in southern Zaporizhzhia oblast
  • Badenoch hopes to grab attention with policy blitz

    Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch waves at supporters as she arrives at the annual Conservative Party Conference on October 4, 2025 in Manchester, England.
  • The Upbeat newsletter: Start your week on a high with uplifting stories delivered to your inbox

    A graphic of a wave in the colours of yellow, amber and orange against a pink sky
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    America's top banker sounds warning on US stock market fall

  2. 2

    Have Russians set up a military base in my childhood home?

  3. 3

    'I'll axe stamp duty' and 'My Maddie hoax agony'

  4. 4

    ChatGPT image snares suspect in deadly Pacific Palisades fire

  5. 5

    Stars, secrets and slip-ups: Celebrity Traitors is off to a cracking start

  6. 6

    'I cried every day': Victoria Beckham tells of fashion woes in new Netflix doc

  7. 7

    'Half my mind is still in Gaza': Evacuated teacher begins studies in UK

  8. 8

    McCann stalker contacted Maddie's sister, court told

  9. 9

    How Britain's membership of the ECHR became a political hot potato

  10. 10

    Conservatives would scrap stamp duty, Badenoch announces

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Rom-com starring Aimee Lou Wood and Nabhaan Rizwan

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Film Club has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Film Club
  • Exposing a pro-Russian fake news operation

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Global Eye has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Global Eye: Inside a Pro-Russian Fake News Operation
  • Leonardo DiCaprio discusses his new film

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Movies With Ali Plumb has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Movies With Ali Plumb: Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
  • The rise and downfall of Margaret Thatcher

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Thatcher: A Very British Revolution has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Thatcher: A Very British Revolution
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.