Trump visits U.S. troops in Iraq, his first trip as president to a combat zone

WASHINGTON President Trump created a surprise visit to U.S. troops in Republic of Iraq on Wed, the primary time Trump met with yank troops in an exceedingly combat zone. The visit that wasn't declared ahead came against the background of mounting controversies over Trump’s plans to withdraw forces from the center East the continued government conclusion Associate in Nursingd an apparently coincident big apple Times article that explored the president’s past rejection of military service

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders revealed the trip on Twitter Wednesday afternoon

President Trump and also the 1st girl traveled to Irak late on Christmas night to go to with our troops and Senior Military leadership to convey them for his or her service their success and their sacrifice and to would like them a Merry Christmas, Sanders denote

Wire photos showed Trump and 1st girl Melania Trump meeting with troopers and military leaders at Al Asad air station in Irak Trump was joined by national security authority John Bolton

Prior to the visit Trump had faced criticism for breaking with an annual tradition since 2003 of presidents visiting troops deployed abroad around the Christmas holiday

Trump spoke to members of all 5 U.S military branches via a video call on Tues. whereas the president has visited with troops within the U.S multiple times since he took workplace this was his 1st visit to a combat zone each of Trump’s immediate predecessors President Barack Obama and President Saint George W. Bush, created it a degree to determine troops fighting overseas terribly early in their terms

Trump’s trip to Asian nation came at a turbulent time for his administration, significantly in respect to military policy. Last week, Trump declared his call to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and ordered the Pentagon to draw up plans to drag troops out of Asian country. Opponents and military analysts disturbed that the beneficiaries would be jihadis, likewise as Russia and Islamic Republic of Iran, that has sharply sought-after to expand its influence within the region. The Syria withdrawal, that Trump declared in a very tweet with very little or no advance notice or consultation with the cupboard, semiconductor diode to the abrupt resignation of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis