MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to allow into the United States people who "want to love our country," defending his immigration and refugee restrictions as he made his first visit to the headquarters Monday for U.S. Central Command.
President Donald Trump has lunch with troops while visiting U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. Trump, who spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, stopped for a visit to the headquarters before returning to Washington.
Photo Credit: Susan Walsh/AP
Earlier, Trump sat down for lunch with a room full of troops in fatigues from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, as well as senior members of his White House staff.
Trump made small talk with some of the soldiers, discussing everything from football to military careers.
"Gonna make it a career?" Trump asked one person.
"C'mon, you have to stay," he urged another.
Trump also hailed New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, saying he "cemented his place" in football history after his fifth Super Bowl win Sunday.
Trump, who is also commander in chief of the U.S. military, stopped at the base on the way back to Washington after his first weekend away from the White House. Trump spent the weekend at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, with first lady Melania Trump, who had not appeared in public since shortly after her husband took office.
At MacDill, the president was briefed by CENTCOM and SOCOM leaders. A number of his advisers, including Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, also attended.
President Donald Trump salutes as he arrives on Air Force One at MacDill Air Force Base, Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, in Tampa, Fla.
Photo Credit: Chris O'Meara/AP
Trump met with Florida Gov. Rick Scott before delivering his remarks, telling the crowd at CENTCOM that Scott's endorsement of his candidacy for president "makes him a better friend of mine," adding that with those who don't offer their endorsement, "it's never quite the same."
CENTCOM oversaw a recent raid by U.S. special operations forces on an al-Qaida compound in Yemen, the first military operation authorized by Trump. A Navy SEAL, Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, 36, of Peoria, Illinois, was killed, making him the first known U.S. combat casualty under Trump.
Three other U.S. service members were wounded in the operation. More than half a dozen suspected militants and more than a dozen civilians were also killed, including the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric and U.S. citizen who was targeted and killed in 2011 by a U.S. drone strike.
Trump made no mention of Owen or the raid in Yemen during his remarks Monday, but he paid recognition to the sacrifices of American military families and the spouses of American soldiers, vowing his support to those who risk their lives for the country.
"We protect those who protect us, and we will never ever let you down," he said.
