Trump flag (she dropped it after she saw me taking a photo) pic.twitter.com/LhPwUNdEK3— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) December 27, 2018
Trump signing MAGA hats for the troops in Iraq pic.twitter.com/bDUIk94jpR
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) December 26, 2018
I don't know if you folks are aware of what's happening. We want to have strong borders in the United States. The Democrats don't want to let us have strong borders -- only for one reason. You know why? Because I want it. (Laughter.) If I said -- you know, I think, just standing here looking at all these brilliant, young faces -- these warriors. You're warriors. You know, you're modern-day warriors. That's what you are.
But you gave me an idea, just looking at this warrior group. I think I'll say, "I don't want the wall." And then they're going to give it to me. (Laughter.) I've figured out the solution, First Lady. (Laughter.) Tell Nancy Pelosi, "I don't want the wall." "Oh, we want the wall." And then we get the wall. (Laughter and applause.) That's another way of doing it. (Applause.) That's another way of doing it.
No, we have to have it. And, you know, not only human trafficking; drugs; illegals; a lot of criminals -- bad records. We've seen murderers come in through the -- you saw what happened with the caravan, as we call it. A caravan of thousands of people.
While American might can defeat terrorist armies on the battlefield, each nation of the world must decide for itself what kind of future it wants to build for its people, and what kind of sacrifices they are willing to make for their children. America shouldn't be doing the fighting for every nation on Earth not being reimbursed, in many cases, at all.
If they want us to do the fighting, they also have to pay a price -- and sometimes that's also a monetary price -- so we're not the suckers of the world. We're no longer the suckers, folks. And people aren't looking at us as suckers. And I love you folks because most of you are nodding your head this way. We're respected again as a nation. We're respected again.
Iraqi political and militia leaders condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq on Wednesday as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and lawmakers said a meeting between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was canceled due to a disagreement over venue.
Sabah al Saadi, the leader of the Islah parliamentary bloc, called for an emergency session of parliament “to discuss this blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and to stop these aggressive actions by Trump who should know his limits: The U.S. occupation of Iraq is over.”
The Bina bloc, Islah’s rival in parliament and led by Iran-backed militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, also objected to Trump’s trip to Iraq.
“Trump’s visit is a flagrant and clear violation of diplomatic norms and shows his disdain and hostility in his dealings with the Iraqi government,” said a statement from Bina.
Abdul Mahdi’s office said in a statement that U.S. authorities had informed Iraq’s leadership of the president’s visit ahead of time. The statement said the Iraqi prime minister and U.S. president talked by telephone due to a “disagreement over how to conduct the meeting.”
Iraqi lawmakers told Reuters that the pair had disagreed over where their planned meeting should take place: Trump had asked to meet at the Ain al-Asad military base, an offer which Abdul Mahdi declined.
“We can use this as a base if we wanted to do something in Syria,” he said. “If we see something happening with ISIS that we don’t like, we can hit them so fast and so hard” that they “really won’t know what the hell happened.”
Qais Khazali, the head of the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, promised on Twitter that Iraq’s parliament would vote to expel US forces from Iraq, or the militia and others would force them out by “other means.”
[...]
“The American occupation of Iraq is over,” al-Saida said. Trump should not be allowed to arrive “as if Iraq is a state of the United States.”
Q: Did you have any concerns about coming here today?
“Sure. When I heard what you had to go through?”
Q: What did you have to go through?
“I had concerns about the institution of the presidency. Not for myself personally. I had concerns for the First Lady, I will tell you. But if you would have see what we had to go through in the darkened plane with all window closed with no light anywhere. Pitch black. I’ve been on many airplanes. All types and shapes and sizes.”
“So did I have a concern? Yes I had a concern.”