President Trump, First Lady Pay Surprise Visit to American Troops in Iraq

President Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, paid a surprise visit to troops in Iraq Wednesday. 

The unannounced trip was the president's first to see American troops in a war zone abroad since he was elected. National security adviser John Bolton accompanied Trump and his wife as well. 

"President 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 Huckabee Sanders tweeted Wednesday.

During the visit, Trump spoke about his controversial announcement to pull troops out of Syria, a decision that led Secretary of Defense James Mattis to quit his post. 

"A lot of people are going to come around to my way of thinking," Trump told reporters in Iraq, according to CNBC.

The visit explained Trump's sudden silence on Twitter Wednesday after he sent a volley of tweets on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day amid a partial government shutdown.

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