White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during Tuesday’s briefing that the trip will occur from May 13-16 and will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
The White House had previously previewed this trip as the first foray abroad of Trump’s second term in office, but the president and first lady Melania Trump will now travel to Rome this weekend to attend the funeral services for Pope Francis, who died on Monday at the age of 88.
“The president looks to strengthen the ties between the United States and these countries in which he will be visiting,” Leavitt said Tuesday. “He’ll be having many bilateral meetings and talks, and we look forward to the trip and hope to see many of you there.”
Leavitt also faced a number of questions about upcoming meetings with top Trump administration officials and their European counterparts to continue discussions on a possible ceasefire in the Ukraine War. Leavitt declined to say Tuesday if Trump’s Middle East trip would intersect with Ukraine talks.
“However, I do have an update on meetings when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war,” Leavitt instead countered, mentioning that she had just been in the Oval Office with the president and special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s point negotiator with Moscow. “We’re hopefully moving in the right direction, and the special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will be heading to Russia again later this week to continue talks with Vladimir Putin.”
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You can watch Tuesday’s briefing in full below.
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