A palantír (pl. palantíri) is a fictional magical artefact from J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium. A palantír (Quenya for “far-seeing”[1]) is described as a crystal ball, used for both communication and as a means of seeing events in other parts of the world or in the distant past.
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During Trump’s SA visit, after the sword dance, they were putting their hands on a big white sphere. Was that Palentir?
“One Orb to Rule Them All”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/22/one-orb-to-rule-them-all-image-of-trump-and-glowing-globe-perplexes-internet
I think it’s just a globe. Recall that there used to be Saudi’s on the Fortune 500 list and, after Trump, there are currently no Saudis on that list. :)
I don’t put much stock in photos of Trump visiting dignitaries. I think he’d use whatever means at hand to communicate - the MSM will always cast it as weird/evil. :)