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Trump to visit the Vatican, Israel and Saudi Arabia on first foreign trip

Lock if old
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump said Thursday his first foreign trip later this month will include visits to the Vatican, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/04/polit...-foreign-trip0357PMVODtopLink&linkId=37194606
These stops are in addition to Trump attending a NATO meeting in Brussels on May 25 and a G7 meeting in Italy on May 26.

"Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the two holiest sites in Islam, and it is there that we will begin to construct a new foundation of cooperation and support with our Muslim allies to combat extremism, terrorism and violence, and to embrace a more just and hopeful future for young Muslims in their countries," Trump said Thursday in announcing his trip during a Rose Garden ceremony where the he signed a religious liberty executive order.

"Our task is not to dictate to others how to live, but to build a coalition of friends and partners who share the goal of fighting terrorism and bringing safety, opportunity and stability to the Middle East," Trump said.
To date, Trump has left the foreign travel to his top aides and Cabinet members, including Vice President Mike Pence, who has been on two international trips so far, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Trump's visits to the Vatican, Israel and Saudi Arabia were first reported by Politico.

Senior administration officials told CNN this is part of the strategy to reach out across religions and countries to combat extremism -- both to fight ISIS and to further isolate Iran. He will visit Jerusalem, Israel, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to a senior administration official.

Trump's election has provided the United States with opportunities to "re-engage the world," the officials said, given Trump's perceived unpredictability and that he is "not dogmatic to one school of thought, (rather) open-minded, flexible and opportunistic."
The senior administration officials said it's a time when the Trump administration can pursue policies that "strengthen our hand and weaken our enemies."
"Certain things will be formalized and announced in the time leading up to the visit," one senior administration official said.

A second senior administration official said that a recent visit to Saudi Arabia revealed an open-mindedness to stepping up and leading in a way the official had not seen in the country since right after 9/11.

"Saudi Arabia realizes the challenges it has; and there is a similar feeling throughout the region," the official said.

Part of the problem, the officials said, stems from the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran, which they view as providing a path to a nuclear weapon for the country, as well as Iran's continued funding of terrorism throughout the region.
The officials add the administration has been working hard to produce a "meaningful set of deliverables" to be announced around the trip.
Trump's first foreign trip is coming later in his presidency than any president since Lyndon B. Johnson, who waited over 10 months after President John F. Kennedy was killed to travel abroad. He is also the first president since Carter to not make his first trip to Mexico or Canada.

Trump's top advisers insist the President is focused on making deals with foreign leaders in a bid to create a more secure planet, despite the lack of foreign travel. They point to frequent visits from foreign leaders -- including the most recent visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas -- as proof that Trump has influence on foreign affairs from the White House.


First foreign trip after more then 100 days in office. Hopefully these locals have golf clubs to retreat to if the going gets tough for the poor guy lol.
 

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
Christian, Jewish, and Muslim capitals all at once. hmmm...

1_-thumb-240x344-4462.jpg


I'm almost sure this is just a vanity trip to him.

Next he'll talk about visiting Constaintinople Istanbul.
 

kess

Member
Great places to visit first if you want to Piss People Off And Fuck Shit Up.

Meanwhile Dueterte is thanking Xi Jinping...
 
Isn't it like a tradition that a new US President's first trip is to one of its two neighbors? I know Obama and W. Bush visited Mexico in their first trip. The fucking spineless coward will never visit Mexico, of course.
 

Shinypogs

Member
He can put off visiting Canada indefinitely for all I care. Traditions be damned his visit could bring nothing good.
 
I really wonder how the Pope Trump meeting goes.

I could see the Pope drop some truth on Trump, and Trump either visibly wincing or just leaving like a Child.
 

GrapeApes

Member
Isn't it like a tradition that a new US President's first trip is to one of its two neighbors? I know Obama and W. Bush visited Mexico in their first trip. The fucking spineless coward will never visit Mexico, of course.
He can't go to Mexico. If he don't come back with that wall money people will just clown him.
 

Heshinsi

"playing" dumb? unpossible
Christian, Jewish, and Muslim capitals all at once. hmmm...
Well he ain't going to Mecca, and Riyadh is and has never been considered the capital of Islam.

*Mecca while being the holiest city of Islam, has never been a capital for any Islamic Caliphate. Medina, Demascus, Baghdad, Cairo, Constantinople, etc, have been.
 

DogDude

Member
Isn't it like a tradition that a new US President's first trip is to one of its two neighbors? I know Obama and W. Bush visited Mexico in their first trip. The fucking spineless coward will never visit Mexico, of course.
He already did during the campaign tbf
 

JordanN

Banned
Who wants to bet these are business trips?

Trump doesn't care about America. He's going to travel the world and use it to promote the Trump brand. All while taxpayers subsidize it.
 

jstripes

Banned
Well he ain't going to Mecca, and Riyadh is and has never been considered the capital of Islam.

*Mecca while being the holiest city of Islam, has never been a capital for any Islamic Caliphate. Medina, Demascus, Baghdad, Cairo, Constantinople, etc, have been.

Mecca's got that ghastly massive hotel development going on. That's right up Trump's alley.
 
"Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the two holiest sites in Islam, and it is there that we will begin to construct a new foundation of cooperation and support with our Muslim allies to combat extremism, terrorism and violence, and to embrace a more just and hopeful future for young Muslims in their countries,"

Please put whoever wrote this for him in charge of all of his future statements, executive orders, tweets, and generally just make them the functional President in his place. Thanks.
 

Bucca

Fools are always so certain of themselves, but wiser men so full of doubts.
Bet money this piece of fucking shit visits with Berlusconi.
 
"Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the two holiest sites in Islam, and it is there that we will begin to construct a new foundation of cooperation and support with our Muslim allies to combat extremism, terrorism and violence, and to embrace a more just and hopeful future for young Muslims in their countries," Trump said Thursday in announcing his trip during a Rose Garden ceremony where the he signed a religious liberty executive order."

This really sounds like the opposite of what Bannon would say. So maybe it is true that Bannon lost some power to influence the Cheeto-in Chief.
 
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