Donald Trump returned over the weekend from his first trip abroad as President of the United States. Among the purposes of the trip, one of the main themes is to speak out against religious extremism. His destinations included, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Vatican, where he visited holy sites and met with political and religious leaders. He ended his trip this past weekend in Belgium at the NATO and G7 summit meeting. This is fairly big for this United States president, it’s his first trip overseas as president, meeting many foreign leaders who he has been critical of in the past.
President Trump started his trip in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In Arabic Trump literally means gas pump, this joke has been going around to say this is why President Trump will be so well received. That said, Saudi Arabia and the US have always done their best to keep good relations for the tradeoff between oil and protection.
It was evident that Obama and Saudi Arabia did not get along so well, it was thought that Obama preferred working with Iran to Saudi Arabia, but Trump is expected to fare much better in these matters. This meeting comes right after a $110 billion agreement to sell arms to the Saudi military to fight ISIS had been reached.
The Saudis are very interested in foraging a good working relationship with the U.S. under Trump and are not at all scared of President Trump’s anti-Islamic terrorist campaign rhetoric. The Saudis are said to be rolling out the red carpet for Trump, perhaps because the president shares their view that Iran is the main cause of trouble for the Middle East.
The war between Saudi Arabia and Iran goes back centuries, due to the fact that Saudi Arabia is 90% Sunni Muslim and in Iran 98% of residents are Shia Muslims. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and President Trump both agree that war against the ISIS and al-Qaida are necessary for the future of the world.
Next, Trump traveled to Israel, where he was also well received by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders. This is an important location, because although the US and Israel have historically been allies, former president Obama and his policies alienated our biggest ally in the Middle East, leaving President Trump to repair the strained relationship. This visit signifies to the world that the US is back on track with its pre-Obama US-Israeli relations.
While in Israel, Trump visited the Western Wall. He was the first sitting president to do so in history. It’s customary to pray at the wall and leave a note of intention in the wall—all of which President Trump did with his Jewish son in law, Jared Kushner, and daughter, Ivanka in attendance. One can only wonder what President Trump’s note said or prayed for. World peace perhaps?
From Israel, Trump went on to visit Vatican City to meet with Pope Francis. While the Pope was not expected to greet the president warmly, due to their differing beliefs on climate change, the meeting ultimately yielded positive results. The Pope and President Trump spoke at length and were photographed embracing each other and shaking hands. This is yet another example of the left run media hyping up an event as anti-Trump which ultimately fell flat.
Last Thursday, President Trump ended his first overseas trip with a stop at the new NATO headquarters in Belgium. During his speech he chastised the other nations for not paying their dues to NATO and putting the financial burden on the American people.
This trip was considered a massive success, even by the liberals. It showed President Trump’s ability to unite world leaders—even in regions like the Middle East where we have had a strained relationship in the past. Trump’s ability to smooth over the bad feelings Obama’s administration left with many nations during the last eight years was crucial.
Obviously, all the world’s problems will not be fixed in a week, but this journey through religious states is more than a hi, how do you do, but it is meant to show that the US understands that battle from many perspectives and wants to aid in carrying the torch of peace.
~ Christian Patriot Daily
