More details from Pres Trump’s visit to Iraq: Pres Trump said that ISIS is “very nearly defeated” and the caliphate is gone, but if ISIS were to have a resurgence that the troops in Iraq would be able to combat it.
President Trump and the First Lady went to a dining hall and walked around greeting troops, taking selfies, signing autographs. They got a standing ovation when they walked in.
President Trump and FLOTUS spent about 3 hours at Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq visiting troops and military leaders.
Asked why he wanted to come to Iraq, Trump told reporters before a meeting with military leaders on base: “It’s a place I have been talking about for many years, many many years,” he said. “I was talking about it as a civilian."
Trump described how he gave “the generals” multiple six month “extensions” got get out of Syria. Trump said: “They said again, recently, can we have more time? I said, ‘Nope.’ You can’t have any more time. You’ve had enough time. We’ve knocked them out. We’ve knocked them silly."
Pres Trump also said: "The United States cannot continue to be the policeman of the world...It’s not fair when the burden is all on us, the United States...We are spread out all over the world. We are in countries most people haven’t even heard about. Frankly, it’s ridiculous.”
Pres Trump said he is planning on “going to the wall” on the SW border of early next year for a “ground breaking.” He said he planned to visit the border before the State of the Union address.
Note: The "wall" has not begun being built and Trump hasn't gotten the money to do it
Note: The "wall" has not begun being built and Trump hasn't gotten the money to do it
Q: Why come during shutdown? Trump: “We actually had a couple set up but were canceled for security reasons because ppl were finding out...Pretty sad when you spend $7 trillion and you have to come in through military escorts and all of the other incredible things that they did.”
Q: How long do you think the shutdown will last?
President Trump: “Whatever it takes. We need a wall. We need safety for our country. Even from this standpoint. We have terrorists coming in through the southern border.”
President Trump: “Whatever it takes. We need a wall. We need safety for our country. Even from this standpoint. We have terrorists coming in through the southern border.”
Trump getting some love from troops: Trump and Melania made their way through the crowd for about 15 mins. Trump stopped to talk and signed several red Make America Great Again hats service members had brought. At one point he signed an embroidered patch that read “TRUMP 2020.”
More details per pool: Trump greeted the troops, saying he’d had great meetings on base. “We like to win Do we like to win?” Trump said. Troops cheered. Trump said if there is a terror attack in the U.S. there would be a harsh response from the US.
Air Force One is wheels up at 10:53 pm local. President Trump and the First Lady are Leaving Iraq.
