Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Madam Akie Abe will be having dinner tonight with President Donald Trump and First Lady to celebrate Melania’s birthday.  The prime minister and the president are close personal friends and will likely play golf tomorrow.
The Trump-Abe relationship existed for many years prior to becoming U.S. President. Their respect for each-other is genuine.  Abe and Trump are competitors on trade and economics and their strategies within that competition are actually fun to watch. The long-standing friendship underpins a very genuine alliance of U.S-Japanese interests.
In advance of the dinner tonight PM Abe and President Trump meet in the Oval Office ahead of a bilateral delegation meeting to discuss trade and regional matters. They also take questions from the media [Video and Transcript Below]

[Transcript] 4:35 P.M. EDT – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s an honor to have my friend, Prime Minister Abe — Japan. We have many things to discuss, including trade, including some of the numbers that just came out this morning. We had a very big number at 3.2 GDP for the first quarter — usually the worst quarter. That also included the little bit of a dispute we had during the quarter. So 3.2 is far above expectation. I guess many people were thinking it would be in the ones, maybe between one and two. And 3.2 is great.
(more…)

President and Mrs. Trump ddress participants of the 8th annual Prescription Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. The summit is “the largest national collaboration of federal, state, and local professionals working to address the prescription drug abuse and misuse epidemic.  Anticipated Start time 1:30pm EST
UPDATE: Video Added

[Transcript] – 1:45pm EDT – MRS. TRUMP: Thank you, Congressman Rogers. It is an honor to be with you. Today, we come together to address an issue that is close to all of our hearts: saving Americans from the disease of opioid addiction.
Before I begin, I want to thank members of law enforcement for all they do to protect us each day. (Applause.) You are each heroes, and this administration will always honor your life-saving work.
(more…)

As they departed the White House for a Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, GA, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump deliver remarks to the White House press pool.  UPDATE: Transcript Added

[Transcript] – 11:00 A.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: So the stock market and our country, from an economic standpoint, is doing the best probably it’s ever done. We’re hitting new highs again. We’ve hit new highs, I guess close to, or over 100 times since I’m President — from the time of the election.
Unemployment numbers are the best they’ve ever been by far. We have almost 160 million people working today in the United States. That’s more than we’ve ever had working in our country before.
(more…)

(Via White House) President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump accepted the invitation of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to visit the United Kingdom from June 3 to 5, 2019. This state visit will reaffirm the steadfast and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

In addition to meeting the Queen, the President will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May. While in the United Kingdom, the President and First Lady will attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, at one of the primary embarkation sites for the Allied operation that led to the liberation of Europe during World War II.
(more…)

The Wonderful Things You Will Be

(more…)

Earlier today, Mrs. Trump participated in an opioid town hall at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Opioid addiction is one of the three pillars that make up Mrs. Trump’s Be Best campaign and this is her second time appearing to speak at a town hall hosted by Eric Bolling.  [Full Event Video and First Lady Transcript below]

.
[Speech Transcript] First Lady Melania Trump – Thank you Eric. I am honored to be with you again.
I’d also like to take a moment to thank you for the strength you have shown, despite what I know to be the grief you and Adrienne deal with each day.  People who are able to use a profound loss to help others, are an inspiration to all of us.  You honor your son each day by shining a light on this nation’s opioid crisis and by the lives I know you are saving.
Thank you again for allowing me to be part of such a heartfelt and impactful event.
(more…)

Libel laws in the U.K. must be much more favorable to the victim than in the United States.  The U.K. Telegraph published a retraction to a previous story written about First Lady Melania Trump that is labeled “An Apology“:

(Article Link)

(more…)

Before getting to the POTUS and FLOTUS pictures from 2018, it is worthwhile remembering the scale of the opposition we have successfully overcome.
On October 13th. 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump delivered a speech in West Palm Beach, FL, that defined his moment in our nation’s history. The power behind that movement is YOU, the American people.  We are the ones we have been waiting for.
Part of that speech was put to an enhanced video. The entire speech is Here.

.
[ Transcript ] […] Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American People. There is nothing the political establishment will not do, and no lie they will not tell, to hold on to their prestige and power at your expense.
The Washington establishment, and the financial and media corporations that fund it, exists for only one reason: to protect and enrich itself.
The establishment has trillions of dollars at stake in this election. As an example, just one single trade deal they’d like to pass, involves trillions of dollars controlled by many countries, corporations and lobbyists.
For those who control the levers of power in Washington, and for the global special interests they partner with, our campaign represents an existential threat.
(more…)

President Trump and First Lady Melania stopped at Ramstein Air Base in Germany en-route back to Washington DC.  The president took the opportunity to talk directly with key military generals and leaders aboard Air Force-One:
(more…)

Speculation of President Trump heading to visit troops began early this morning as an overnight takeoff for Air Force-One was strongly rumored.  Additionally the White House press room has been silent and POTUS Trump has been unusually quiet on his social media.

In a statement posted on Twitter, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed the visit in a tweet shortly after Reuters shared the photos of the president in Iraq.

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.  (Link)

Additionally, the Daily Mail has more pictures  in Iraq.
(more…)