President Donald Trump arrived in Hawaii on Friday as he set out on the longest trip to Asia by an American president in more than a quarter century, looking for help to pressure North Korea to stand down from a nuclear crisis.
Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam late Thursday after a daylong flight from Washington.
He departs Friday for Japan, the first stop on the five-nation, 11-day Asia journey.
The First Lady left Washington in a winter jacket in electrifying cobalt blue but changed mid-flight into a sleek white sun dress that bared her arms.
Upon landing, the Trumps were both handed traditional leis, the wreath of flowers worn around the necks that are presented upon arriving or leaving Hawaii as a symbol of affection.
Just before 1pm local time, Trump and the first lady were greeted on the Hickam Air Force base tarmac by Hawaii Governor David Ige and his wife Dawn Amano-Ige.
President Donald Trump arrived in Hawaii on Friday as he set out on the longest trip to Asia by an American president in more than a quarter century, looking for help to pressure North Korea to stand down from a nuclear crisis. Trump is seen with First Lady Melania Trump at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii on Friday
Trump departs Friday for Japan, the first stop on the five-nation, 11-day Asia journey. The first couple is seen after disembarking Air Force One
The First Lady left Washington in a winter jacket in electrifying cobalt blue but changed mid-flight into a sleek white sun dress that bared her arms
President Trump waves to the gathered crowd at the military base as he and First Lady Melania Trump deplane from Air Force One
The Trumps are expected to stay overnight on the island of Oahu before continuing on their way to Asia
The first couple appeared fresh after a nearly 10-hour flight from Washington, DC to The Aloha State
The Trumps are seen holding hands as they descend the steps from Air Force One while a supportive crowd waits to greet them
Upon landing, the Trumps were both handed traditional leis, the wreath of flowers worn around the necks that are presented upon arriving or leaving Hawaii as a symbol of affection
The Trumps are seen shaking hands with a throng of supporters after their arrival at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam
Trump gives a high-five to a young supporter on hand at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam just after his arrival
President Donald Trump bends to receive a flower lei as First Lady Melania Trump (far right) and Dawn Ige, the wife of Hawaii’s governor, David Ige, look on
Nine-year-old Mikayla Webb, a fourth-grader from a local school, gave the couple lei and received a hug from Melania Trump
Also on hand to welcome the president and the first lady were Admiral Harry B. Harris and his wife, Bruni Bradley, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
Nine-year-old Mikayla Webb, a fourth-grader from a local school, gave the couple lei and received a hug from Melania Trump.
‘I’m going to give the president and his wife a lei,’ Mikayla said before Air Force One landed.
When asked what she would say to the Trumps, Mikayla said, ‘Aloha and welcome to the islands.’
‘They wanted a Hawaiian, military girl to offer lei,’ her mother, Tanya Webb, said.
After receiving lei, the Trumps then greeted some of the roughly 150 people who gathered to welcome them to Hawaii.
President Trump is welcomed by US Navy Admiral Harry Harris, commander of United States Pacific Command, at its headquarters in Aiea, Hawaii
The US Pacific Command oversees US military operations in the region. Recent tensions with North Korea have kept American military commanders preoccupied
A key discussion topic likely will be North Korea’s nuclear threat, a crisis that will shadow Trump’s trip
Trump will also tour the USS Arizona Memorial, part of the Pearl Harbor site dedicated to the attack that drew the US into World War II
Also accompanying Trump on his trip is White House chief of staff John Kelly, who is seen left looking on during the president’s meeting with Admiral Harris (second from left)
Several of those who waited to see the Trumps were wearing red ‘Make America Great Again’ hats.
It is Trump’s first visit to Hawaii as president.
In Hawaii, Trump is scheduled to meet with leaders of the US Pacific Command, which oversees US military operations in the region.
A key discussion topic likely will be North Korea’s nuclear threat, a crisis that will shadow Trump’s trip.
He’ll also meet with the governors of Alaska, Hawaii and Pacific US territories.
Trump will also tour the USS Arizona Memorial, part of the Pearl Harbor site dedicated to the attack that drew the US into World War II.
Security and trade will loom large during Trump’s first official visit to Asia.
North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs are likely to be the issue dominating the first part of his trip, which includes stops in South Korea’s capital and Beijing as well as Tokyo.
Trade will figure throughout, both in North Asia and at his stops in Southeast Asia for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders’ meeting in the Philippines.
Trump’s 12-day trip to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, ending on November 14, takes him out of Washington at a time when he has been beset by several issues
The president and first lady walk away after Trump briefly spoke to reporters just before his departure on Marine One at the White House on Friday
Trump left the capital on Friday as the nation was focused on an intensifying federal investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s election, New York’s recovery from an attack earlier this week that killed eight people, and debate over a Republican tax-cut plan that if approved by Congress would be Trump’s first major legislative victory
Before their departure, the first lady stopped to take a selfie with a supporter just moments before she and her husband stepped aboard Marine One
Trump’s 12-day trip to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, ending on November 14, takes him out of Washington at a time when he has been beset by several issues.
These include an intensifying federal investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s election, New York’s recovery from an attack earlier this week that killed eight people, and debate over a Republican tax-cut plan that if approved by Congress would be Trump’s first major legislative victory.
The trip began just days after Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was indicted in the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and after his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, faced Democratic calls to appear before Congress again to clarify his previous testimony about the campaign’s Russia contacts.
Amid the furor caused by the revelations, the Kremlin said on Friday that a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at an Asian economic summit next week was being discussed, and Trump said it might happen.
‘We may have a meeting with Putin,’ Trump told Fox News.
‘And, again – Putin is very important because they can help us with North Korea. They can help us with Syria. We have to talk about Ukraine.’
Court documents made public on Monday also disclosed that a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty early last month to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The documents cited a March 2016 meeting, when Trump was campaigning for the presidency, and attended by Trump and Sessions, in which Papadopoulos offered to help arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin.