“Freedom, Security, and Justice will prevail. We are prepared for a fight and we pray for peace”, President Trump saluted for the first time the U.S. troops today at MacDill Air Force Base.
This morning in Palm Beach, Florida, the motorcade of the President of the United States departed Mar-a-Lago at 10:27 a.m. to board the Air Force One at Palm Beach International. For the first time, Commander-in-Chief was scheduled to speak at MacDill Air Force Base .
After two hour flight, Air Force touched down at MacDill Air Force Base. President Trump disembarked at 11:38 and was greeted by National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and a dozen uniformed military personnel.
At the luncheon, around the six tables of eight chairs, five military personnel from all four military branches were mixed with the White House staff. The enlistees, nearly all wearing camouflage fatigues, stood behind their chairs in the dining room awaiting Donald J. Trump, President of the United States.
Around 1 pm, President Trump entered into a CENTCOM dining room greeted by applause from a roomful of soldiers. He sat down at a table where he was introduced to the troops.
“How do you like it?” President asked one. “See this guy?” he continued. “Strong guy. Think I could lift as much as you? I don’t think so,” he told another. “There’s only one way to find out”, the soldier responded and the whole table started to laugh.
President then asked the soldiers if they have seen the game last night. “Tom Brady cemented his place. He did a good job,” he said.
Seated at a table just in front of the flags of all branches of the Armed Services, President Trump was conversing with Cpl. Walker, SSG Laleman, Spc. Atis, Csm. Thetford, Spc. Wilkinson, T.Sgt. Ramos, Lt. Cpl. Johnson.
There was a place setting for White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (a veteran of the Navy). White House Senior Adviser Stephen Miller was in the dining room for a few minutes.
President Trump used his speech to coalition representatives and senior U.S. commander as an opportunity to reassert America’s support for NATO.
In his remarks, President Trump stated the following: “We will make a historic financial investment in the armed forces of the united states and show the entire world that America stands with those who stand in defense of freedom. We have your back, every hour, every day, now, and always. That also means getting our allies to pay their fair share. Been a very unfair to us. We strongly support NATO. We only ask that all of the NATO members make their full and proper financial contributions to the NATO alliance, which many of them have not been doing. Many of them have not been even close.”
He then went on to send a strong message to our troops, stating: “The men and women of the United States military provide the strength to bring peace to our troubled, troubled times. We stand behind you. We support your mission. We love our country. We are loyal to our people. We respect our flag. We celebrate our traditions. We honor our heroes. You are our heroes. We are prepared to fight and pray for peace.”
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