U.S. President Donald Trump met with a half dozen U.S. Air Force leaders based in Germany while aboard Air Force One at Ramstein Air Base, early Thursday (December 27) during a brief stopover while en route to Washington after his surprise Christmas visit to Iraq.
Trump and First Lady Melania also shook hands and posed for cellphone selfies with hundreds of uniformed service members at the base, some of whom waited to get his his autograph on their red ‘Make America Great Again’ baseball caps, which helped define Trump‘s presidential campaign in 2016.
READ MORE: Trump makes surprise visit to Iraq, stands firm on Syria pullout
Trump made the surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq on Wednesday, his first trip to a conflict zone nearly two years into his presidency and days after announcing a pullout of American troops from neighboring Syria.
WATCH: Trump meets with troops in Iraq in surprise visit a day after Christmas
Iraqi political and militia leaders condemned his visit as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and lawmakers said a meeting between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was canceled due to a disagreement over venue.