TAORMINA, Italy (AP) – In the Middle East, President Donald Trump was feted with pageantry, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Israel seemingly in competition to outdo the other with the warmth of their welcomes and the depth of their pledges of cooperation.
But in Europe, Trump has faced a far cooler reception and has been eager to go on the offensive.
Cajoled on issues like climate change and NATO’s defense pact, he’s responded by scolding some of the United States’ most loyal allies for not paying their fair share. He’s also refused to explicitly back the mutual defense agreement that has been activated only once, during the darkest hours of September 2001.
And now Trump has arrived at the final stop of his maiden international trip, a grueling nine-day, five-stop marathon. He will remain in Europe for the journey’s last two days, this time in at a picturesque coastal town in Sicily for a gathering of the G-7.
Once more, he will likely be received warily, a president who ran on a campaign of “America First” with suggestions of disentangling the United States from international pacts, now engaged in two days of pomp and policy with the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.