Sigonella, Italy - With trouble facing him
back home, U.S. President Donald Trump ended his nine-day
overseas journey in dramatic fashion on Saturday, addressing
U.S. troops at a campaign-style rally.
Trump flipped traditional U.S. foreign policy upside down on
his tour through the Middle East and Europe, coddling Middle
Eastern leaders with questionable human rights records while
demanding traditional European allies pay more for their
defense.
At a Group of Seven summit in the resort town of Taormina on
the island of Sicily, Trump refused to entreaties from the other
six allies to maintain U.S. support for the Paris climate
agreement, insisting he needed more time to make up his mind.
In a hangar at Naval Air Station Sigonella, which is also on
Sicily, Trump was introduced by his wife Melania, who has raised
eyebrows during the trip by twice flicking away her husband's
hand when he tried to hold hers.
"My husband worked very hard on this trip and I am very
proud of him," she said.
Trump, whose Marine One helicopter landed from Taormina to
the soaring soundtrack of the "Air Force One" movie, emerged
from two days of closed door summitry to declare his trip a
success.
Trump said he had helped forge more international
cooperation in the fight against Islamist militants, a threat he
said was underscored by a suicide bomber in Manchester, England,
and the killing of Coptic Christians in Egypt.
"It was a tremendously productive meeting where I strengthen
American bonds," said Trump. "We have great bonds with other
countries and, with some of our closest allies, we concluded a
truly historic week."
Melania Trump, the wife of US President Donald Trump, presents patients with presents at the Queen Fabiola Children's Hospital in Brussels on Thursday. Picture: Virginia Mayo/AP
Trump skipped the traditional end-of-trip news conference to
avoid facing questions about a host of problems he faces upon
his return to Washington later on Saturday.
His May 9 firing of former FBI Director James Comey has
raised concerns about whether he was trying to squelch a federal
probe into his campaign's ties with Russia last year.
The questions have been intensified in the wake of
disclosures on Friday that a senior adviser, Jared Kushner, the
husband of Trump's daughter Ivanka, had contacts with the
Russians in December about opening a secret back channel of
communications with Moscow.
Trump used his trip to promote "America First" policies,
promoting $110 billion worth of arms sales to Saudi Arabia and
telling G-7 allies that the United States needs a more level
playing field on trade.
His body language on the trip demonstrated his typically
brash behavior, dramatized by his demands that NATO allies pay
more for their defense and his refusal to explicitly declare
that the United States backs Article 5 of the alliance's
charter, which requires each member to come to the defense of
each other.
His pushing aside of the prime minister of Montenegro to get
in place for a family photo generated headlines across Europe.
In this image taken from NATO TV, Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, second right, appears to be pushed by US President Donald Trump. Picture: NATO TV via AP
At Sigonella, Trump said his appeals to NATO allies to pay
more was working.
"Money is starting to flow in," he said. "It's only fair to
the United States. We're behind NATO all the way. But we want to
be treated fairly."