For President Trump to be such a showman who enjoys the made for entertaining television aspects of his position, it should be no surprise to us that Donald Trump’s first foreign trip would not be across the northern borders to Canada.
I thing out of a low-key destination with the United States friendly and mostly quiet neighbor- which in a traditional sense is a dry run for new a president’s engagement in foreign travel – Commander-in-Chief Trump will make his way to three of the world’s major regions, a dramatic face-to-face entry into the desperate intervention of faith, politics and national security. The visit to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Vatican is considered rather flashy of the Butte, especially for a president who has mostly avoided these types of significant trips outside of Washington, until now.
Most of Pres. Trump’s time has been spent away from the White House and tucked away at his private estate in Florida when he departs for his trip to the middle east at the end of May. Trump’s travel abroad will come at a later date in his presidency than any other former president that has been in the White House since Lyndon B. Johnson, who did not travel abroad for more than 10 months because of the assassination of Pres. John F. Kennedy when he traveled abroad.
After the Vatican, Trump will visit Brussels and Sicily to attend the G-7 and NATO meetings. Both of those events were announced in the earlier part of this year.
According to the president’s aids, the purpose of the trip is to display a symbolic showing to the top allies in the United States, with whom the president’s administration hopes will decide to redo their commitment to fight radicalism and intolerance that has been displayed around the world.
But staff members were familiar with the planning of the trip stated that the voyage is also meant to be a demonstration of a new American form policy era in insurmountable fashion. Announcing the trip during a Rose Garden ceremony conducted for the national Day of prayer on Thursday, Pres. Trump declared that it was a “major and historic announcement.”
“Someone clearly saw the Vatican, Israel and Saudi Arabia as a broad stage where the President could demonstrate a certain degree of unity and ecumenism and go to places where he could be guaranteed a high degree of symbolism when it came to his first presidential trip,” said the senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Aaron David Miller. “The trip provides a dramatic stage on which to act out his presidential role,” he added.
The initial stop and Saudi Arabia is intended to specifically the block wide view perceptions that the presidents are anti-Muslim, according to the White House staff official who assisted with the planning of the visit.
The Islamic community across the world has been startled by some of the president’s actions, including his signing of an executive order that barred the entry of citizens from specific Muslim-majority nations, and filed to put a definite end to all immigration of Muslims into the US during his campaign. “We thought that was very important because obviously, people have tried to portray the President in a certain way,” said a senior administration official. “But I think that what he wants to do is solve the same problem that a lot of the leaders in the Islamic world want to do.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir Said on Thursday that he believes the visit will be of some assistance in refuting the anti-Islamic impressions that Trump has given off. “It’s a clear and powerful message that the US harbors no ill will toward the Arab and Muslim world,” he said. “It also lays to rest the notion that America is anti-Muslim.”
Trust visit in Riyadh, Jerusalem, Rome, Brussels, and Sicily are not scheduled to be lengthy – with some of his visits to the destinations expected only to be for the period of one night, according to trip planners. But at each location, Trump is hopeful that he can communicate and express his faith in long holding United States allies that his administration has claimed were damaged during former Pres. Barack Obama’s administration.
In 2009, former Pres. Barack Obama decided to opt out of the visit to Israel during his very first trip to the Middle East, and an initial slight that manifest into a star relationship while he searches term in office. A wrap golf nations, along with Saudi Arabia, expressed her feelings of neglect when then Pres. Obama brokered a negotiated deal in cooperation with Iran concerning their nuclear weapons, which is to gated concerns that the United States was rebuilding their relationship and interests in the region.
“All the conversations we’ve had with all the leaders around the world show that there is a lot of frustration with how things have been done to date, and I think he’s driven by common sense, and he’s driven by a real practical approach to try to get things done,” stated by a senior administration official.
The first stop that Pres. Barack Obama made of wrought was in Canada and each of the American presidents that sick office after Jimmy Carter has made Canada or Mexico their inaugural foreign destination. That Canadian visit reaffirms the traditional believes that North America maintains close cross – border relations with Canada- ties that have become tense under Trump’s administration due to trade disagreements and an unsettled dispute over Trump’s proposed Mexico extended an invitation to border wall. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau extended an invitation to the president for a visit immediately after Trump became elected in November. At this point, the president has not accepted the invitation, though individuals close to the prime minister have expressed that’s he does not feel snubbed. Staff who have assisted with the planning of foreign trips for presidents in the past have declared that the trip across the border would allow newly employed White House aides a comparably easy trip to work through the logistics of transporting a president into a foreign country.
The president’s approach is remarkably different and could present negatives moving forward. Trump has not announced a chief of protocol yet –
and ambassador – level position that works out the planning details with the government of a foreign country prior to the president leaving for the trip.
In countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia – each having their own distinct religion and political sensitivities – issues of the protocol can emerge as vital considerations when dealing with how a visit by a president is received. Even if the president’s hosts are excited about delivering a gaffe – free trip, the president himself would at least need to be prepared in order to avoid a cultural mishap.
“I don’t think there are any traps that will be set,” Miller said. “The question is whether he generates them on his own. And gets out of his own way. And there’s no way to predict that. As carefully orchestrated and choreographed as these trips may be, there’s always the possibility of a stumble or an inappropriate remark.”
Previous presidents have discovered that it can sometimes be uncomfortable when dealing with Saudis and their conservative approach. Former Pres. George W. Bush held hands with Crown Prince Abdullah in 2005 which later led to speculations that accuse him of being too intimate with the oil – rich kingdom. Former Pres. Obama received criticism that stated he was overly differential after a video surfaced of him bowing to Crown Prince Abdullah in 2009 during a summit meeting in London.
Trump’s trip overseas will have a different appearance from Obama’s international voyages for additional reasons as well. It is very likely that speeches and addresses similar to Obama’s will not be featured or delivered during Trump’s trip; nor will trump attend the expected cultural stops the former Pres. Obama relished during his foreign travels.
The traveling style of President Trump’s of in-and-out visits is very similar to his days as a chief executive of his real estate empire, which is when he would fly in his private jet to attend business meetings without lingering around for long.
An individual who accompanied Trump in his travels when he held the executive position in the Trump organization of the 1990s described Trump as a businessman do not particularly enjoy traveling to foreign countries. It is not easy for him to adjust to the change in time zones and readily experienced object lack, according to the official. He purposely avoided global cuisine. And the business customs of foreign leading businessman – particularly in Asia where negotiations are regularly concluded over rounds of alcoholic beverages – and sometimes would lead to an irritated Trump.
For the President and his staff, traveling to foreign countries can be a grueling experience. The onset of meetings usually starts immediately after Air Force One touches down in the time zone, leaving only a small window of time for the President to adjust to his new surroundings. Trips taken to foreign capitals many times require state dinners that last late into the evening and then are followed by early-morning talks the following day.
The ambitious itinerary for Trump’s first trip – a little over a week to make five visits – is sure to cause fatigue. But according to officials of the White House, it is worth the hustle and efforts to properly introduce Trump as America’s president, especially since many