Probably not since the days of the Pharaohs

or the more ludicrous Roman Emperors has a head of state travelled in such pomp and expensive grandeur as the President of the United States of America.

While lesser mortals – the Pope, Queen Elizabeth and so on – are usually happy to let their hosts handle most of the security and transport arrangements when they venture beyond their home shores, the United States creates a mini-America on the move to ensure that nothing is left to chance.
First saw this the other day, but with one thing and another hadn't said anything about it, then Insty reminded me this morning. As he says, If he were a Republican, we’d be hearing about the “Imperial Presidency” in the American press. Instead, such criticism is left to the British. Because our media's collective nose is so far up Obama's ass they can't breath until he farts.