Donald and Melania Trump make a surprise visit to Iraq to wish troops a Merry Christmas after being criticized for failing to visit a war zone for the first two years of his presidency
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump made a surprise visit to Iraq on Wednesday — their first visit to a war zone since Trump took office nearly two years ago.
In photos distributed by Reuters, the president and first lady posed for selfies with the troops. The president spoke to military and political leaders at Al Asad Airbase, in western Iraq, as well.
The White House said in a statement that they secretly traveled to Iraq yesterday evening, on Christmas, to wish service men and women a happy holiday.
The secret trip came amid speculation that President Trump was not at the White House, because he had not tweeted for hours and the marine that stands guard when he’s in the Oval Office was not outside the West Wing.
President Trump had said he would visit Afghanistan soon but visited Iraq over the Christmas holiday, instead, several days after announcing that he will be pulling U.S. troops out of Syria.
In a statement posted on Twitter, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed the visit in a tweet shortly after Reuters shared the photos of the president.
‘President Trump and the First Lady traveled to Iraq late on Christmas night to visit with our troops and Senior Military leadership to thank them for their service, their success, and their sacrifice and to wish them a Merry Christmas,’ she said.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump made a surprise visit to Iraq on Wednesday — their first visit to a war zone
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greet military personnel at the dining facility during an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base
The secret trip came amid speculation that President Trump was not at the White House
He had not tweeted for hours and the marine that stands guard when he’s in the Oval Office was not outside the West Wing
President Trump had said he would visit Afghanistan soon but visited Iraq over the Christmas holiday, instead, several days after announcing that he will be pulling U.S. troops out of Syria
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greet military personnel at the dining facility during an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base
U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by National Security Adviser John Bolton, meets political and military leaders
Trump did no military service and claims to have opposed the original war in Iraq
The president was in Washington, D.C. this week, because of a government shutdown
He made surprise visit to a U.S. Air Base admit the shutdown that was expected to last until the New Year
First lady Melania had been in Florida but returned to Washington to be with her husband on Christmas
Trump announced this past week that he was pulling troops out of neighboring Syria