Senior White House officials tout Trump's first foreign trip as president

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"Tolerance is the cornerstone of peace", Trump said at a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden, at which he announced he would go to "Saudi Arabia, then Israel, and then to a place that my cardinals love very much, Rome".

Then he'll move on for visits to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and a summit in Italy.

President Donald Trump will visit Israel later this month after visiting Saudi Arabia, his first foreign trip since taking office in January.

Trump also reached out to America's "Muslim allies to combat extremism, terrorism and violence and to embrace a more just and hopeful future for young Muslims in their countries".

"Traveling next to Italy, President Trump will meet with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican to discuss cooperation between the United States and religious communities in areas of joint concern".

To date, Trump has left the foreign travel to his top aides and Cabinet members, including Vice President Mike Pence, who has been on two worldwide trips so far, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

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" "America First" is fully compatible with American leadership in the world", a senior administration official told reporters Thursday at the White House. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has frequently praised Trump.

When he reported the news of the meeting, Vatican correspondent Josh McElwee wrote (rather politely, I thought): "Francis and Trump are known to have divergent opinions on a number of issues" and "The two famously had a somewhat tense exchange in February 2016, while Trump was campaigning to become the Republican Party's nominee".

Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia will be historic "by every measure", said that country's foreign minister, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir.

The official explained that the administration expects Saudi Arabia to bring together a number of leaders from majority-Muslim countries in order to discuss common interests as a group. The leaders expressed optimism about rebooting peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which would be facilitated by Trump.

While tangible goals for both the Israel and Saudi Arabia visits are still in progress, senior White House officials said the trip will serve as an opportunity to make strides in defense and diplomacy.

Pope Francis holds his weekly general audience on Wednesday mornings, and senior Vatican sources said the meeting with the president will be squeezed in before. Trump and the Pope will have some fences to mend: During the campaign, Trump sharply criticized Francis after the leader of the Catholic Church noted that building walls is not a Christian virtue, calling the pope's comments "disgraceful". Trump has designated his son-in-law Jared Kushner to oversee the effort along with top White House aide and former Trump Organization attorney, Jason Greenblatt.

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