President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump made a surprise visit to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq Wednesday after slipping out of Washington, D.C., late Christmas night. The president and first lady received a raucous reception from the troops.

President Trump covered a lot of ground in his remarks – from the record defense buildup under his leadership and the need for a border wall to from his decision to withdraw from Syria and the heroism of our great military.

Here are some excerpts of the president’s closing remarks:

“America is a peace-loving nation. But rest assured, if we are forced to fight, we will engage the enemy with overwhelming force like never before — like nobody has ever seen before…

"Our faith and confidence in you is absolute and total… You are the warriors who defend our freedom. You are the patriots who ensure the flame of liberty burns forever bright. That’s who you are…

"To everyone at Al Asad Air Base, and every American serving overseas, may God bless you, may God protect you, and may God always keep you safe. We love you. We support you. We salute you. We cherish you. And together, we pray for justice, goodness, and peace on Earth.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted about an incredible encounter between the president and an Army solider. The soldier told President Trump that he re-enlisted in the military because of Trump’s election. The president replied, “And I am here because of you.”

Predictably, the left-wing media have been doing their best to bash the president over the Christmas holiday. NBC News posted a story Tuesday titled, “Trump Becomes First President Since 2002 Not To Visit Troops At Christmastime.” Yet just hours later, the president was on the ground visiting the troops in Iraq.

Speaking of Iraq, the Iraqi cabinet voted to recognize Christmas, “the occasion of the birth of Jesus Christ,” as an official government holiday.

Reflections On Syria

I know conservatives have different views regarding the president’s decision to withdraw 2,000 troops from Syria. But let me tell you who doesn’t have differing views: the left and its media allies.

Their view is always consistent: Whenever a conservative president does something, it is wrong and, quite possibly, the end of the world.

When a Republican president committed troops to Iraq, the entire left-wing media and political establishment said it was all about oil. Now that Donald Trump is trying to get us out of Syria, the media say he’s weak on ISIS.

At the beginning of Trump’s administration, he hired several retired military men to fill key positions. At the time, the media complained about the breakdown of civilian leadership and fretted that it could lead to more wars.

But now that the generals are leaving, the media and the DC establishment are worried that all the “guardrails” in the administration are gone.

President Trump explained his decision to withdraw from Syria to the troops at Al Asad Air Base. Here’s some of what he said:

“American and coalition forces have had one military victory after another over the last two years against ISIS, including the retaking of both Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. We’ve liberated more than 20,000 square miles of territory … and liberated more than 3 million civilians from ISIS’s bloodthirsty control…

"I made it clear from the beginning that our mission in Syria was to strip ISIS of its military strongholds; we’re not nation building… Our presence in Syria was not open-ended, and it was never intended to be permanent…

"The men and women who serve are entitled to clear objectives, and the confidence that when those objectives are met they can come home and be with their families. Our objective in Syria was always to retake the territory controlled by ISIS. Some people said we’ve already retaken 99 percent…

"Now that we have done so, the nations of the region must step up and take more responsibility for their future…

"There will be a strong, deliberate, and orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria — very deliberate, very orderly — while maintaining the U.S. presence in Iraq to prevent an ISIS resurgence and to protect U.S. interests, and also to always watch very closely over any potential reformation of ISIS and also to watch over Iran…

"While American might can defeat terrorist armies on the battlefield, each nation of the world must decide for itself what kind of future it wants to build for its people, and what kind of sacrifices they are willing to make for their children. America shouldn’t be doing the fighting for every nation on Earth…”