Vice President Mike Pence may have postponed his scheduled trip to Egypt and Israel this week to ensure that the tax bill would be passed without a hitch, but it turns out he needed to use his passport after all.
Instead of traveling to Israel, Pence made a secret trip to Afghanistan, where he met with U.S. troops serving in the country as well as Afghan leaders. News of the trip broke shortly before 4:30 p.m. EST on Thursday.
This is Pence's first trip to Afghanistan.
Vice President Mike Pence makes surprise trip to Afghanistan to meet with Afghan leaders, visit US troops. https://t.co/0AZpLBHByc
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 21, 2017
Speaking to the troops at Bagram Airbase, Pence gave greetings from President Donald Trump.
"Before I left the Oval Office yesterday, I asked the president if he had a message for our troops here in Afghanistan," said Pence. "And he looked at me without hesitation from behind the resolute desk, and said 'Tell them I love them.'"
Recommended
Pence told the crowd that he and the president "couldn't be more proud of every one of you," and had them give themselves a round of applause.
Watch below:
Vice President Mike Pence speaks to troops during surprise visit to Afghanistan: "Give yourselves a round of applause. We couldn't be more proud of every one of you." https://t.co/cP0dpIs6wN pic.twitter.com/vb0lnLbPAx
— CNN (@CNN) December 21, 2017
According to the AP, Pence met with the president of Afghanistan as well as Gen. John Nicholson, who is the top U.S. commander in the country.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member