President Trump’s First Foreign Trip

On the fourth month of his presidency, President Trump embarked on his first foreign trip. During this trip, the President has visited the centers of the three major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He visited Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy, the Vatican City, and Belgium. The trip has gone smoothly and has been a success. It lasted nine days, starting on May 19th and ending on May 27.

On May 20th, President Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia, after having departed the previous day. An interesting destination for a man who hasn’t said the nicest things about Islam, and who has tried to ban Muslims from traveling to the U.S.. In this trip, President Trump carried himself in a very disciplined way and tried to find common ground at a meeting of leaders from the Arab nations. He and his wife ate dinner with Saudi Arabia’s royal family. The main message of this visit was about fighting Islamic terrorism. On May 22nd, the President visited Israel and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the holiest sites of Christianity. In Israel, the President met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin. President Trump became the first sitting president to visit the Western Wall. At the Western Wall, Mr. Trump prayed and put a note with a wish between the cracks. The next day, the President laid a wreath at the Holocaust Museum and gave a speech before going to Rome.

President Trump visited Vatican City, the center of Christianity and where Pope Francis resides. There, the President had a private meeting with the Pope, where they talked about issues in which they both agree on, like abortion, and on which they disagree on, like immigration rights and climate change. At the meeting, President Trump was urged to not pull out of the Paris Agreement (He did pull out on 6/1). Afterwards, President Trump met with Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella. On Thursday, Mr. Trump met with European Union officials, an organization which he has often criticized and wished for it to be dismantled. After, he ate lunch with the newly-elected president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and ate dinner with NATO representatives. On May 26th, he arrived in Sicily to attend several G7 meetings and also visit American troops stationed at a military base in Sigonella. Later, he left to return back home.

Surprisingly, the President’s first foreign trip has been free of major gaffes and he has carried himself as a good statesman. This trip has been very important, because it was the time to make a first impression in foreign territories. The President’s main message was that of peace among religious boundaries and geographical boundaries. All in all, the trip turned out to have been a success.