Trump, first lady make surprise visit with troops in Iraq

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump made a surprise visit Wednesday to U.S. troops in Iraq — his first presidential visit to troops in a troubled region.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump secretly left the White House Christmas evening for the 11-hour flight to Iraq. The visit was not made public until after Air Force One landed at Al Asad Air Base, a joint U.S.-Iraqi military base west of Baghdad where they spent about three hours.

“Trump and the first lady traveled to Iraq late on Christmas night to visit with our troops and senior military leadership to thank them for their service, their success, and their sacrifice and to wish them a Merry Christmas,” press secretary Sarah Sanders revealed in a tweet Wednesday.

In a large dining hall decorated for Christmas, some 100 U.S. troops gave the Trumps a standing ovation, got autographs and posed for selfies with the first couple after their arrival at 7:16 p.m. local time.

“I want to come and pay my respects most importantly to the great soldiers, great troops we have here,” Trump told reporters before a meeting with U.S. military leaders.

Later in a large hangar where hundreds gathered to see the president, Trump asked, “Do we like to win?”

The first lady told the troops, “I’m very proud of you.”

The visit occurred a week after Trump announced that he plans to withdraw the 2,000 U.S. troops serving in neighboring Syria, a decision that led to the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

Defending his decision

Trump used Wednesday’s visit to defend his decision to withdraw from Syria. The president told reporters that a year ago he had given “the generals” a six-month extension to stay in Syria before deciding that they could not have any more time.

“I said, ‘Go get ‘em,’” and then he gave the generals another six-month extension as well.

“The United States cannot continue to be the policeman of the world,” Trump said.

Trump also said the United States is now more respected as a nation. “We’re not the suckers of the world,” he said.

ISIS, Trump declared, is “very nearly defeated.” He thanked the troops for their “great job” and pledged to watch “the remnant” of ISIS very carefully. If ISIS were to gain strength, he said, U.S. troops in Iraq would be able to combat it.

But David Adesnik of the nonpartisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies countered, “Can we get them (ISIS) from Iraq? It’s just going to be a lot harder.”

Trump also warned that if terrorists from the region attack the United States, “they will suffer consequences over here like nobody has ever suffered before.” The room applauded in approval.

Visiting a war zone

Since before Thanksgiving, critics and pundits have shone a spotlight on Trump’s failure to visit U.S. troops serving in war zones over the holidays, as former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush did in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I’m glad he went,” said former Obama undersecretary of state Ellen Tauscher. “But let me just say that this is the minimum a commander in chief can do and he should have done it a year ago.”

She added that it is part of a president’s responsibility to visit war zones for oversight purposes and to make sure troops know the president cares.

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., a critic of Trump’s Syria announcement and a frequent Trump golf buddy, tweeted, “I’m very glad to see the president and first lady visit our troops in Iraq. It’s always good for morale to have a visit from the commander in chief.”

Trump disclosed that he had planned earlier trips to visit troops that had to be cancelled for security reasons. He also said that for security purposes, Air Force One had to fly into Iraq with windows closed and no lights.

On the flight home from Iraq, Sanders told reporters that the president spoke on the phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi while Trump was at the base. The two leaders had been scheduled to meet in person but the meeting was canceled for security and logistical reasons, Sanders said. During the call, Trump invited the prime minister to visit the White House and the prime minister accepted, she added.

The visit occurred on day five of a partial government shutdown. In front of U.S. troops, in a setting that is supposed to be free of politics, Trump brought up his disagreement with Congressional Democrats that led to the shutdown.

“You’re fighting for borders in other countries,” Trump said, maintaining that Democrats won’t fight for the U.S. border.

Trump also hit Democrats for opposing his military budget, and referred to a military pay raise that he claimed was the first in 10 years. “I got you a big one,” Trump said.

Fact checker Politifact rated Trump’s claim that he got the military its first pay raise in 10 years “pants on fire” false when he made that claim in May.

Asked how long he expects the shutdown to last, Trump responded, “Whatever it takes. We need a wall.” Trump also told reporters he planned to visit the border wall before he delivers his State of the Union address, probably on Jan. 22.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or at 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.