Trump makes first trip home as president

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Donald Trump turned his first trip home as president into a victory lap Thursday, returning to the city that has largely opposed him while celebrating House passage of legislation undoing much of his predecessor’s health law.

Multiple modest protests took place across the city during his visit, some visible from the presidential motorcade as it roared past Wall Street and Manhattan’s famed skyscrapers.

His visit was shorter than first expected so that he could commemorate the House vote with a Rose Garden event. Slated to be in Manhattan only a few hours, Trump did not visit his home at Trump Tower and pushed back his first meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull by several hours.

“In those Pacific waters we forged iron bonds between our two countries,” Trump said. “Few peoples in the world share ties in history, affection and culture like the Americans and the Australians. Those ties are sealed with the blood of our grandfathers and fathers, and those same ties are now the priceless heritage we celebrate so beautifully tonight.”

The leaders spoke aboard the USS Intrepid, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of a World War II battle that reinforced the ties between the U.S. and Australia.