Washington (CNN) Besieged by bad news at home, President Donald Trump is about to get religion, bigly. 
 
 In his first foreign trip as President, which begins Friday, Trump has planned a pilgrimage of sorts, visiting the homelands of all three Abrahamic faiths -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- before heading to Europe for meetings with Pope Francis and NATO leaders. 
 
 In all, it's an ambitious nine-day, five-country tour that will test the religious acumen and diplomatic skills of a President who, beyond courting conservative Christians and casting suspicion on Muslims, rarely talks about religion. 
 
 Trump's itinerary includes Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, where he aims to erase his Islamophobic image and urge Muslim leaders to address extremist ideologies. In the Holy Land, Trump wants to jumpstart the stalled peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, while visiting touchstones like the Western Wall. And in Europe, the President seeks to repair frayed relations with two of the continent's most venerable institutions, the Vatican and NATO. 
 
 Gen. H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser, called the President's plans unprecedented. "No President has ever visited the homelands and holy sites of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslims faiths all on one trip," he said at a press briefing last week. 
 
 Actually, other Presidents have visited Saudi Arabia and the Holy Land on the same trip. But no President has included the Vatican, Catholicism's holy headquarters, on the itinerary. 
 
 The White House says Trump has three main goals: to project American power abroad, build relationships with world leaders and "broadcast a message of unity" to Jews, Christians and Muslims. 
 
 "What President Trump is seeking is to unite peoples of all faiths around a common vision of peace, progress and prosperity," McMaster said. 
 
 Religious accord is a smart way for the White House to frame Trump's trip, said Chris Seiple, former president of the Institute for Global Engagement and an expert on faith and foreign policy. 
 
 "Most of the American people are utterly fed up with the Middle East, and this framework is a way to get their attention," Seiple said. 
 
 But some experts question whether Trump is the right messenger to preach about religious unity. 
 
 Trump was raised Christian, but as an adult he has rarely attended worship services, nor had he cultivated relationships with religious leaders before running for president. During the campaign, his remarks on religion were sometimes seen as uninformed and divisive. 
 
 He was accused of tweeting an anti-Semitic image and trafficking in anti-Jewish tropes; he said "Islam hates us" and pledged to temporarily bar Muslims from the United States; he even feuded with Pope Francis, who said that someone who talks only about building walls instead of bridges isn't Christian. Trump called the Pope's comments "disgraceful." 
 
 Concerns about Trump's views on religion have carried over into his administration. 
 
 He pleased his conservative Christian base with the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and an executive order promising greater legal latitude to pastors who want to preach about politics. But Jews complained for weeks about his reluctance to condemn dozens of bomb threats at Jewish community centers, and Muslims say his executive order halting immigration from several Muslim-majority nations discriminates against their religion. 
 
 "Up until now, Trump's message on Islam has been very confrontational, a clash-of-civilizations type narrative," said Shadi Hamid, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an expert on political Islam. "For him to talk about the great faiths unified in a common civilization would be quite different." 
 
 Posing for photos with the Pope and praying at the site of Jesus' tomb may alter aspects of Trump's image, but the his pilgrimage bears considerable risks, especially for someone with a tendency to improvise in delicate diplomatic situations. 
 
 "If he takes advantage of this trip to bring people together, that would be good," said Seiple. "On the other hand, the whole thing could blow up in our face." 
 
 With those challenges in mind, here are the key religious events during Trump's trip. 
 
 Saudi Arabia 
 
 Where: Riyadh 
 
 When: May 20-21 
 
 Key religious event: Speech to leaders of 50 Muslim countries 
 
 McMaster said Trump plans to deliver an "inspiring yet direct" speech to leaders from Muslim countries on Sunday. The topic is the "need to confront radical ideology" and the "President's hope for a peaceful vision of Islam to dominate across the world." 
 
 "The speech is intended to unite the broader Muslim world against common enemies of all civilization and to demonstrate our commitment to our Muslim partners." 
 
 The President is fairly popular among Muslim heads of state, experts say, because of his hardline stance on Iran and reluctance to lecture Middle East dictators on human rights. 
 
 But Trump's speech risks alienating or even insulting many Muslims who are weary of Western politicians conflating their faith with terrorism. 
 
 Elliott Abrams, who supervised President George W. Bush's Middle East policy, said Trump will have to navigate between "very dangerous portals." 
 
 "If he says nothing about Islamic extremism, then supporters at home will say he bit his tongue; if he says too much about it, he could conceivably offend some of those who are there." 
 
 Early signs about the speech are not encouraging, experts said, especially after CNN reported that Stephen Miller, a White House aide known for peddling Islamophobic ideas , was drafting Trump's address. Miller also helped craft Trump's first executive order barring immigrants from several Muslim-majority countries. (A second order is being fought in the courts after the first version hit legal roadblocks.) 
 
 William McCants, director of the Brookings Institution's Project on US Relations with the Islamic World, offered Trump some advice for the speech. The first tip: cancel it. 
 
 "The President is not known for nuance, which is what a speech like this requires to escape the potential wrath of his multiple audiences," McCants said. 
 
 McCants and other experts on Islam also warned against projecting Saudi Arabia's strict theocracy as a model for "moderate Muslims." 
 
 While the country is the custodian of Islam's "two holy mosques," it has also spread a toxic theology, Salafism, that has inspired extremists like al Qaeda and ISIS. What's more, the country has a horrible human rights record, according to international watchdogs, particularly on religious freedom. 
 
 One safe proposal, according to foreign policy experts, is a regional roundtable on religious freedom, looking particularly at the plight of Christians in Muslim-majority countries. The Trump administration has been studying the idea , after meeting with members of the Institute for Global Engagement earlier this month. 
 
 Israel/West Bank 
 
 Where: Jerusalem and Bethlehem 
 
 When: May 22-23 
 
 Key religious events: Speech at Israel Museum, prayer at Western Wall, visit to Church of the Holy Sepulchre 
 
 In some ways, Trump is sending a message just by setting foot in Israel, Jewish leaders say. 
 
 President Obama, during his first Middle East trip, skipped the Jewish state, a slight that some Israelis were reluctant to forgive, said Robert Danin, a former State Department official and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. 
 
 In Jerusalem, Trump will lay a wreath at Yad Vashem, a memorial to the Holocaust victims, before delivering a speech "reaffirming America's unshakable bond" with Israel at the Israel Museum, the White House says. 
 
 Danin said some Israeli leaders appear apprehensive about Trump's speech, mainly because they don't know what he's going to say. 
 
 "That uncertainty is very anxiety-provoking for the Israeli government because they fear that he is going to ask the Israelis to do things that this government may not want to do, may not be in a position to do." 
 
 Other Jewish leaders say they'll be looking for more than pacifying political rhetoric from Trump. 
 
 "We want to see if the President understands Israel's traumas, its security dilemmas and its unique importance in the region," said David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee. "It's about chemistry and tonality and feelings. We want to know if he feels Israel in the kishkes," the Yiddish word for gut. 
 
 The Trump administration has already caused a diplomatic stir over the Western Wall, the last remnant of Judaism's Second Temple and its holiest place of prayer. 
 
 According to reports, an American diplomat said Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu could not accompany Trump to the holy site because it's not in Israel. Previous administrations have considered east Jerusalem, where the wall sits, to be Israeli-occupied territory, but Trump's position is unclear. Palestinians also claim Jerusalem as their capital. 
 
 McMaster dodged questions about Trump's stance on the wall, saying the President aims to send a religious, not political, message. 
 
 "He's going to the Western Wall mainly in connection with the theme: to connect with three of the world's great religions -- and to pay homage at each of these religious sites that he's visiting." 
 
 Earlier that day, Trump will travel to Bethlehem, where he will encourage Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to come to the negotiating table with Israel, the White House says. 
 
 Trump has eased the way for talks to restart, Middle East experts say, by delaying a campaign promise to move the US embassy to disputed Jerusalem, a change that would irk Palestinians and other Arabs. 
 
 But Trump will still have to address the embassy question, Abrams said. "If the President says nothing about it, then he is, in essence, moving away from the campaign promise." 
 
 One possible compromise: Trump could continue to call Jerusalem " the eternal capital of the Jewish people," while dragging his feet on the embassy move. 
 
 Rome 
 
 Where: Vatican City 
 
 When: May 24 
 
 Key religious moment: Meeting Pope Francis 
 
 When Trump visits the Vatican Wednesday, it will be the most highly anticipated meeting between Pope and President in recent memory. But those expecting a donnybrook will likely be disappointed, church experts say. Neither the President nor Pope Francis seem eager to replay their brief spat over Trump's border wall. 
 
 Asked about the upcoming meeting, Francis said he's keeping an open mind. 
 
 "I will say what I think, he will say what he thinks, but I never, ever, wanted to make a judgment without hearing the person," the Pope said at a recent press conference aboard the papal plane. 
 
 Francis also said he will not seek to change Trump's mind on policy disagreements. Instead, he'll try to find avenues of agreement. 
 
 "Look for the doors that are at least a little bit open, enter and talk about common things and go on. Step by step. Peace is handcrafted. It is made every day. Also friendship among people, mutual knowledge, esteem, is handcrafted." 
 
 Churchwatchers say the Vatican is eager to open lines of communication with the new American President, especially after their rocky start. 
 
 "At this point, there doesn't seem to be much common ground between the new President and the Pope," said John Thavis, author of "The Vatican Diaries" and a longtime reporter on the Catholic Church, "and that's probably pretty worrying for the Vatican." 
 
 McMaster said Trump looks forward to paying his respects to the Pope and discussing religious freedom, as well as cooperation in humanitarian missions and combating religious persecution and human trafficking. 
 
 Much of the meeting consists of elaborate protocol: the Swiss Guard will welcome Trump as a head of state, and the Pope and President will exchange gifts. The private meeting between Francis and Trump is expected to last just half an hour, as the Pope is scheduled to speak in St. Peter's Square shortly after the encounter. 
 
 Rep. Francis Rooney, US ambassador to the Vatican from 2005-2008, said the real diplomatic decisions often occur when the secretaries of state and other diplomats convene on the sidelines. One such meeting covered 16 countries, Rooney recalled, in which the Catholic Church and United States worked together on political and humanitarian missions. 
 
 "The Holy See doesn't have business to promote or consular activities to direct," Rooney said. "It's all about the big ideas and the power of persuasion." 
 
 For a President who likes to think big and make splashy deals, this trip offers plenty of opportunities, as well as a few potential pitfalls. ||||| With his first trip abroad as president behind him, when President Trump Donald John TrumpRobert De Niro, Ben Stiller play Mueller and Cohen in 'SNL' parody of 'Meet the Parents' Trump order targets wide swath of public assistance programs Comey says Trump reacted to news of Russian meddling by asking if it changed election results MORE lands in Washington overnight Saturday he arrives to a slew of controversies besieging his administration. It may be a rude awakening after what Trump called a "home run" of a trip. 
 
 The White House has remained largely quiet on controversies swirling at home and will likely seek to emphasize the president's traveling successes in coming days. Trump and his aides hope to take a victory lap over his first overseas trip — a sweeping nine-day excursion through five different countries across the Middle East and Europe. 
 
 In Saudi Arabia, the president's first stop abroad, Trump secured a massive arms sale, worth about $110 billion. 
 
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 In Jerusalem, he shored up the United States' relationship with Israel and reaffirmed his commitment to Middle East peacemaking. 
 
 And in Brussels, Trump ratcheted up his call for NATO members to bolster their defense spending in order to meet their treaty obligations. 
 
 Here are five takeaways from the president's tumultuous trip. 
 
 Trump took a softer tone on Islam 
 
 Trump moved away from his once-strident rhetoric on Islam during an address in Riyadh to leaders across the Muslim world last Sunday, calling instead for unity in the fight against Islamist extremism. 
 
 "This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects or different civilizations," Trump said. "This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life and decent people, all in the name of religion, people that want to protect life and want to protect their religion. This is a battle between good and evil." 
 
 Not once in his speech did Trump revert to his once-frequent use of the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism" to describe the extremist groups and militants he has vowed to combat. 
 
 But he also called on Muslim leaders to "drive out the terrorists and extremists" from their societies, and urged them to do more to combat extremist ideologies in the Muslim world. 
 
 He reaffirmed support for Israel and pressed for Middle East peace 
 
 The president arrived in Israel amid revelations that he had divulged highly classified intelligence provided by the key ally to Russian officials. But Trump quickly managed to ease the controversy and reaffirm U.S. support for Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raved on Twitter about Trump's "taking such a strong stand for Israel and the Jewish people." 
 
 Trump paid a solemn visit to the Western Wall in East Jerusalem, where he stayed for a moment of silence before placing a note between the wall's stones. It was the first trip to the wall by a sitting president, though other presidents have visited the holy site either before or after leaving the White House. 
 
 But he also expressed the hope of making peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and never declared his intention to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem — a move that would be certain to anger Palestinians, please Israel and complicate peacemaking. 
 
 "I’ve heard it’s one of the toughest deals in the world,” he said, referring to Middle East peacemaking. "But I’m sure we’re going to get there eventually." 
 
 Trump berated NATO over defense spending 
 
 Trump's "America first" approach to foreign policy was on full display in Brussels when the president addressed a gathering of fellow NATO members at the organization's headquarters in Belgium. 
 
 At the heart of his speech was his assertion that the U.S. is shouldering an unfair burden of NATO's defense costs, and that member countries must spend at least two percent of their GDP on defense, a target that all members agreed on in 2014. Currently, only five NATO countries meet that spending target. 
 
 "This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States," he said, speaking directly to the world leaders during a ceremony in Brussels. "And many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years." 
 
 The complaint that other countries aren't doing enough to provide for their own defense is one that Trump frequently touted on the campaign trail. 
 
 But after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last month, Trump pivoted on his claim that the treaty organization is "obsolete," leading some to question whether the president would take an approach to NATO more typical of past presidents. 
 
 Nevertheless, in his address to NATO leaders, Trump refused to reaffirm U.S. support for the organization's principle of mutual defense, and failed to address growing European concern over Russia's intentions in the region. 
 
 He declined to pledge support for the Paris climate agreement 
 
 Trump refused to join Group of Seven (G7) leaders on Saturday in taking a pledge to support the Paris climate deal, leaving it unclear as to whether the U.S. will remain part of the agreement. 
 
 If the U.S. withdraws, as Trump has floated in the past, it would be the first to do so among the 195 countries that have agreed to the deal. Trump's decision not to take the pledge further highlighted a stark division between the U.S. and its allies on the issue of climate change. 
 
 But as a presidential candidate, Trump campaigned on bolstering American fossil fuels, particularly the coal industry. 
 
 Still, the president's aides left open the possibility of Trump sticking to the climate agreement, saying that his views on the issue are "evolving" as he speaks to other leaders about it. 
 
 “I think his views are evolving,” National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn Gary Davivd CohnTop Trump security adviser Tom Bossert resigning BET co-founder credits Trump tax cut with bringing black workers back into labor force What happened to the ‘best and most serious people’? MORE said. “He came here to learn, he came here to get smarter and he came here to hear people’s views.” 
 
 Trump never held a press conference 
 
 Trump broke from tradition in never fielding reporters' questions in a news conference during the trip, which is unlike his predecessors. In the week leading up to his departure on the trip, the White House faced a series of controversies that began with the president's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey earlier in the month. 
 
 Those scandals continued to mount throughout his trip, and White House officials have remained largely silent on them, although aides took a few questions in media gaggles and conference calls. In a press conference on Saturday, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Cohn declined to answer questions about the growing controversy surrounding Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. 
 
 Cohn also insisted that Trump had simply been too busy on his trip to address members of the news media. 
 
 "The president, since he left [Washington] has been dealing with foreign leaders, he's been dealing with jobs, he's been dealing with economic growth, he's been dealing with diplomacy, he's been dealing with unfair trade, he's been dealing with Paris, he's been dealing with China," Cohn said. 
 
 "His agenda has been overflowing. He's been fully consumed with what's going on here." 
 
 Senior White House officials on Saturday continued to remain quiet in response to revelations that Kushner discussed with Russia's ambassador establishing a backchannel line of communication between the Trump transition team and Moscow. 
 
 Meanwhile, Trump has hired attorney Marc Kasowitz as an outside lawyer to help him navigate the sensitive legal ground surrounding ongoing federal investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin. 
 
 With daily press briefings expected to resume, the White House will likely face questions on those controversies among others within Trump's first days back in the U.S. ||||| “Anything that would currently be illegal under current law would still be illegal, we’re not changing the law," a White House official said. | AP Photo Trump signs order loosening oversight of churches' political activities 'You’re now in a position where you can say what you want to say, and I know you’ll only say good and you’ll say what’s in your heart,' Trump told religious leaders. 
 
 President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday easing the enforcement of rules barring churches and other religious groups from political activities, pitching the controversial move sought by conservatives as an effort to promote tolerance and religious liberty. 
 
 “You’re now in a position where you can say what you want to say, and I know you’ll only say good and you’ll say what’s in your heart,” Trump told religious leaders assembled in the Rose Garden. “We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced any more. And we will never, ever stand for religious discrimination, never ever." 
 
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 The order gives the Internal Revenue Service wider latitude to avoid enforcing a ban on political activity by churches and other religious nonprofits, a key 2016 campaign promise by Trump to evangelical conservatives. Critics say relaxing the rules would inappropriately let churches use tax-free donations to promote political candidates and causes. 
 
 Trump also used the ceremony on the National Day of Prayer to announce his first foreign trip as president, which will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, where he will meet the pope. Beginning the trip in Saudi Arabia underscores Trump’s hope to work with leaders in the Muslim world, White House officials said after the announcement. 
 
 "Tolerance is the cornerstone of peace," Trump said in announcing the trip. 
 
 Trump huddled with Catholic leaders in the Oval Office before he spoke, and Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman serenaded the crowd with Christian hymns. A number of cabinet officials attended the ceremony. 
 
 White House officials have said the executive order also would provide “relief” from the Affordable Care Act's requirement, already scaled back by courts, that health insurance plans cover birth control. Religious conservative employers argued for years they should not be forced to pay for insurance plans that cover services they feel violate their religious beliefs. 
 
 Trump made no mention Thursday of another move conservatives at one point expected him to take, which would would have allowed organizations to deny services if they claimed religious objections. Critics said that could permit discrimination against LGBT Americans. 
 
 It's unclear what effects the executive order targeting church activities will have. A White House official acknowledged a day earlier that the order would not change the law. 
 
 In practice, the IRS rarely acts against churches for violating the Johnson amendment, a 1950s-era policy sponsored by then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson that prohibits tax-exempt religious organizations from engaging in campaigning. 
 
 Trump made repealing it a cornerstone of his 2016 campaign for conservative Christian support, and lawmakers have also called for its repeal. “I believe it’s time that we rid our nation of this unconstitutional law by way of legislative action,” Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), an ordained pastor, said Thursday during a House hearing across town from Trump’s ceremonial signing. 
 
 Critics say that would let religious groups use tax-free donations for political purposes, which other nonprofits cannot do. "It is about a scheme to flood political campaigns with dark money," Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said at the same hearing. 
 
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 The executive order leaves the law in place but allows the IRS more discretion to avoid enforcing it. But on Wednesday, three Senate Democrats, Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), said it still would let religious organizations more actively engage in politics. 
 
 The National Council of Nonprofits, the largest network of nonprofit organizations in the country, also said Thursday it opposed the executive order. 
 
 The White House official on Wednesday said they do not expect legal challenges, and the official said the changes Trump signed off on would not lead to a major shift in behavior by religious groups. 
 
 “No one’s suggesting that churches can take out political ads,” the official said. ||||| President Trump will leave the U.S. for his first trip abroad as commander-in-chief on May 19, in a bid to boost his foreign policy agenda. 
 
 He will be accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump for the eight-day, five-country itinerary, which includes stops in the symbolic homes of three Abrahamic religions. Trump may be attempting to rebuild relations with countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia, which frayed under the Presidency of Barack Obama. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will also accompany Trump for most of the trip. 
 
 Trump outlined his objectives for this trip, which comes as his Administration struggles with a series of controversies, as he addressed the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday. 
 
 “I will strengthen old friendships and seek new partners, but partners who also help us, not partners who take, and take, and take,” Trump said in his commencement address. “Partners who help pay for whatever we are doing and all of the good that we doing for them. Which is something that a lot of people have not gotten used to, and they just can’t get used to it.” 
 
 Here’s his itinerary: 
 
 Saudi Arabia 
 
 Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, on May 20. He will first meet King Salman in Riyadh for coffee, followed by a royal banquet, before holding bilateral talks with the King, the Crown Prince and Deputy Crown Prince. Trump will reportedly come bearing a $100 billion arms deal, and the leaders are likely to discuss issues such as Syria, Iran and the ongoing war in Yemen. 
 
 Before having dinner with the Saudi royal family, the President will take part in a signing ceremony on several agreements, which “will further solidify U.S.-Saudi security and economic cooperation” National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster told the press on May 16. 
 
 The next day, Trump will hold bilateral meetings with the Gulf Cooperation Council, which consists of six energy rich Middle Eastern countries. The President will have lunch with leaders from more than 50 Muslim countries— including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for alleged war crimes— during a summit. Syria and Iran were not invited to the event as they are not part of a Saudi Arabian military alliance, that is being established to fight terrorism. There, Trump will give a speech about radical ideology and Islam, which is being drafted by White House aide Stephen Miller, Politico reports. 
 
 According to McMaster, Trump will finish-off his trip by inaugurating a new center to fight radicalism and will participate in a Twitter forum with young people. 
 
 Israel 
 
 Trump arrives in Israel on May 22 amid a handful of diplomatic misunderstandings, which includes Trump allegedly revealing classified intelligence to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that is thought to have come from Israel, and McMaster declining to state that the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism, is a part of Israel. 
 
 Trump is set to meet with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem and lay a wreath at the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Yad Vashem. He will then deliver remarks at the Israel Museum and reaffirm the U.S.’s “unshakable bond with our closest ally in the Middle East” McMaster said. Later that day, he will meet privately with Prime Minister Netanyahu and have dinner with Netanyahu and his wife. 
 
 The next day, Trump will spend time with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, part of his effort to facilitate the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In Jerusalem, Trump is set to say a prayer at the Western Wall, becoming the first sitting U.S. President to visit the contested territory. He will also visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 
 
 Vatican City 
 
 Trump will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican on May 24. Both men hold opposing views on climate change and immigration. Speaking ahead of the visit on May 13, the Pontiff says he won’t try to persuade Trump to his views and he will try and find common ground with the President. 
 
 “I will tell him what I think, he will tell me what he thinks, but I never wanted to judge someone before I listen to the person first,” the Pope said, ABC News reports. According to reports, Trump is due to nominate Callista Gingrich, the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, for the post of U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. 
 
 Trump will also get a tour of St. Peter’s by the Cardinal Secretary of State and will meet Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella before departing Rome. 
 
 Belgium 
 
 The President will meet Belgium’s King Philippe and Prime Minister Charles Michel, as well as heads of state and government of the country on May 25. He will then head to the E.U. headquarters in Brussels to meet the E.U. and European Council presidents. Trump has previously said that the U.K. was doing the right thing by leaving the E.U. and that other countries would follow. 
 
 Trump will then have a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron. During the French presidential elections, Trump told Associated Press that he thought far-right leader Marine Le Pen would do well in the vote as she was “strongest on borders, and she’s the strongest on what’s been going on in France” he told AP. 
 
 Trump is then expected to reaffirm his commitment to NATO while unveiling the security bloc’s memorial, in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall and segment of the World Trade Center. Trump will also say that “for the good of the alliance, all members must share responsibility and share burdens” McMaster said. Secretary of Defense James Mattis will accompany Trump for a NATO meeting and dinner. 
 
 Italy 
 
 Trump will head to Italy for the final leg of his trip for a May 26-27 G7 meeting on the island of Sicily. The event will be attended by German President Angela Merkel, Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the leaders of Italy and Japan— who are keen to gain a clear understanding of Trump’s views on a range of issues, which include trade, terrorism and the refugee crisis. 
 
 The White House has however said that Trump will only make a decision as to whether he will pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement on his return from Sicily. According to McMaster, Trump will “press America’s economic agenda and call for greater security cooperation” he said. 
 
 At the summit, Trump will attend a concert by the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra and attend a leaders’ dinner. 
 
 Contact us at editors@time.com. ||||| President Donald Trump ended his first overseas trip on a buoyant note Saturday, telling a crowd of American sailors at a naval base in Sicily: “I think we hit a home run.” 
 
 But aside from closing a $110 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia on the first day of his nine-day tour, it wasn’t entirely clear what concrete goals the president achieved. 
 
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 Trump made it through the grueling trip without a major diplomatic incident—despite a close call in Israel, where he volunteered to reporters that he’d never uttered the country’s name as the source of intelligence he reportedly shared with Russian officials during an Oval Office visit. 
 
 And he succeeded in putting off allies who were pressuring him to keep the U.S. in the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord, buying himself the space to make a diplomatically awkward decision that will please his base at home. 
 
 Now, Trump returns home to deepening scandals related to his aides’ ties to Russia, having shown his ability to represent the U.S. on the world stage in true Trump fashion. 
 
 Here are POLITICO’S five takeaways after traveling with the president through five stops: 
 
 Trump prefers one-on-one meetings to big multilateral summits 
 
 Trump seemed to enjoy the first leg of his trip, with visits to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican. His time in Saudi Arabia was dominated by a celebration in a gilded palace where Trump mingled among royalty. Along with the dealmaking in Saudi, the first half of the tour was dominated by talk about security and terrorism, both favorite Trump topics. 
 
 But in Brussels and Sicily, Trump found counterparts who were largely unified against him—and decided not to give them what they wanted, whether it was a public commitment to NATO’s mutual defense clause or assent to staying in the Paris climate deal. 
 
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 The optics were the message 
 
 Trump glowed as he placed his hands on an illuminated orb alongside King Salman at the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. At the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Trump was reverent and peaceful as he touched the wall with a yarmulke on his head. At the Vatican, Trump grinned alongside his black-clad wife and daughter while Pope Francis glowered. 
 
 In Europe, Trump had more awkward encounters that telegraphed his attitude. The photo of him tightly gripping the hand of French President Emmanuel Macron and video of him appearing to push past the prime minister of Montenegro out of his way made headlines. At the G7 summit family photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel looked away while standing next to Trump, who was looking down. 
 
 Trump’s ‘home-run’ accomplished very little – perhaps by design 
 
 Privately, some U.S. officials called the jaunt “completely useless.” Very few decisions were made in the summit meetings, while Trump played to his base with an "America First” approach to foreign relations. But the president got away without making any promises that would be hard to keep back in Washington—and managed to reverse positions taken by his predecessor, President Barack Obama, without causing major diplomatic rows. 
 
 EU Council President Donald Tusk called this weekend’s gathering “the most difficult G7 summit,” because Trump arrived seeking to reverse prior positions held by the United States. Co-signers, desperate to keep the agreement together, have privately accepted that they may have to higher emissions levels for the U.S. to keep them in the pact, which Trump could eventually tout as a win, according to a U.S. diplomat. 
 
 The end result for the G7 was a watered-down communiqué, in which six of the seven members reaffirmed their “strong commitment” to the Paris accord on climate change. Trump has said he’ll make a final decision as soon as next week. 
 
 But Trump finally took a position on Russia 
 
 While the G7 allies weren’t able to nail down Trump’s stance on the Paris climate accord, they did get some more clarity on the administration’s position concerning sanctions against Russia. 
 
 Chief economic adviser Gary Cohn initially suggested in Brussels that the White House didn’t yet have a position on sanctions stemming from Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, but then told reporters on Friday, “We’re not lowering our sanctions on Russia. If anything, we would probably look to get tougher on Russia.” 
 
 The final G7 communiqué maintained a hard line on Russia. 
 
 Trump hoped for a reset, but at least he got to avoid his trouble at home for a week 
 
 President Donald Trump did not give a single press conference on the trip, breaking with tradition of speaking with reporters during major trips to promote the White House narrative. 
 
 While the other six leaders that attended the G7 summit held press conferences Saturday at the conclusion of the event, Trump took off for a U.S. naval base, where he thanked his wife, Melania, for joining him, and touted his “truly historic week.” ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Donald Trump sways along with a traditional Saudi sword dance 
 
 The US says it has signed deals worth more than $350bn (£270bn) with Saudi Arabia as Donald Trump begins his first foreign trip as president. 
 
 The agreements included an $110bn arms deal, which the White House described as the single biggest in US history. 
 
 Mr Trump and his wife Melania were greeted in the Saudi capital by King Salman on Saturday morning local time. 
 
 The eight-day trip comes as Mr Trump faces uproar at home following his sacking of FBI director James Comey. 
 
 It will also take in Israel, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, Brussels, the Vatican, and Sicily. 
 
 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the arms deal was aimed at countering the "malign" influence of Iran. 
 
 "The package of defence equipment and services supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the entire Gulf region," he told a news conference in Riyadh. 
 
 Mr Trump is accompanied on his visit by his daughter Ivanka, an unpaid White House adviser, and her husband Jared Kushner, a key member of the Trump administration. 
 
 Like British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on their recent visits to Saudi Arabia, Mrs Trump and Ivanka Trump did not wear headscarves. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Melania Trump didn't wear a headscarf, but does it matter? 
 
 In January 2015, Mr Trump criticised then-First Lady Michelle Obama for doing the same. In a tweet, Mr Trump said she had "insulted" her hosts. 
 
 On Sunday, Mr Trump will attend the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh and speak about his "hopes of a peaceful vision of Islam". Aides say the president hopes his speech will resonate worldwide and express "a common vision of peace, progress and prosperity". 
 
 Mr Trump caused controversy during his campaign by calling for Muslims to be temporarily banned from entering the US over security concerns. Legislation aimed at restricting travel from several Muslim-majority countries remains tied up in the US courts. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Trump's first trip: What's on the agenda in Saudi Arabia? 
 
 The summit agenda is expected to focus on combating Islamist militants and the growing regional influence of Iran. 
 
 Mr Trump has been a fierce critic of the international deal with Iran which eased sanctions in return for a curb on its nuclear activities. 
 
 Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Mr Trump received Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour from King Salman (R) 
 
 Unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama, he is not expected to highlight human rights during his trip. 
 
 In a tweet, King Salman praised Mr Trump, adding that he hoped his visit would "strengthen our strategic co-operation". He later handed the US President Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz medal. 
 
 Can Trump follow the script? By Lyse Doucet, Chief International Correspondent, in Riyadh 
 
 It's being called a summit like no other and in some ways, that's true. Saudis note that past presidential visits were organised by the Royal Court. This time Riyadh is bursting with summits and forums, drawing in all levels of government and everyone from wealthy CEOs, to experts on extremism, to young savvy social media experts. 
 
 But behind the hype, there's nervousness too. "We don't talk about an elephant in the room, we call it the elephant in Riyadh," a young Saudi tells me, highlighting the famous unpredictability of the US president when he veers from the official script. This visit is tightly choreographed to minimise that risk. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Saudi Arabia's foreign minister: Donald Trump's visit is a 'coup for peace and coexistence' 
 
 And it's not that officials in Riyadh are unaware of the crises roiling Washington. "The Saudis still see him as a president who can and will deliver when it comes to their interests," says one adviser. That's what matters for now. But whether Washington will fully follow the Saudi script for the region still has to be seen. 
 
 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that Saudi Arabia had signed a deal to buy just under $110bn (£84bn) of American-made arms, which he said was the biggest such deal in US history. 
 
 Reuters news agency reports the deal includes the assembly of 150 Blackhawk helicopters in Saudi Arabia, worth about $6bn alone. 
 
 AFP quoted a White House official as saying the deal will bolster the kingdom's "ability to contribute to counter-terrorism operations across the region, reducing the burden on the US military to conduct those operations". 
 
 Saudi Arabia has been fighting Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen since March 2015. The United Nations says about 10,000 people have been killed since the fighting began, with Yemen on the verge of famine. 
 
 Rex Tillerson said the arms deal and other investments would add up to more than $350bn. 
 
 US giant General Electric said it had signed agreements worth $15 billion, and Saudi oil giant Aramco, had been expected to sign $50bn (£38bn) of deals with 11 US companies. 
 
 The agenda for the rest of Mr Trump's trip 
 
 Monday-Tuesday, 22-23 May : Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, before visiting the West Bank on Tuesday 
 
 : Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, before visiting the West Bank on Tuesday Wednesday 24 May : Rome and Brussels. Mr Trump will meet Pope Francis, then Belgian officials 
 
 : Rome and Brussels. Mr Trump will meet Pope Francis, then Belgian officials Thursday, 25 May : A Nato summit in Brussels 
 
 : A Nato summit in Brussels Friday, 26 May: Sicily, for a meeting of G7 members 
 
 What will the Trump presidency mean for Israel? 
 
 Find out which foreign leaders President Trump has met or called since taking office, as well as the countries he has mentioned in his tweets. 
 
 What has Trump said about your country? ||||| In this May 26, 2017, photo, leaders of the G7, from left, European Council President Donald Tusk, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President Donald J. Trump,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this May 26, 2017, photo, leaders of the G7, from left, European Council President Donald Tusk, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President Donald J. Trump, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japan's Prime Minister... (Associated Press) 
 
 TAORMINA, Sicily (AP) — As he dashed through the Middle East and Europe, Donald Trump looked like a conventional American leader abroad. He solemnly laid a wreath at a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, had an audience with the pope at the Vatican and stood center stage with Western allies at the annual summits that dominate the diplomatic calendar. 
 
 But when Trump spoke, he sounded like anything but a typical U.S. president. 
 
 On his first overseas tour, the new president made no attempt to publicly promote democracy and human rights in Saudi Arabia, instead declaring that he wasn't there to lecture. In Israel and the West Bank, he pointedly did not back America's long-standing support for a two-state solution to the intractable peace process. And in the heart of Europe, Trump berated NATO allies over their financial commitments and would not explicitly endorse the "one for all, all for one" defense doctrine that has been the cornerstone of trans-Atlantic security for decades. 
 
 To the White House, Trump's first trip abroad was an embodiment of the promises he made as a candidate to put America's interests first and break through the guardrails that have long defined U.S. foreign policy. Trump advisers repeatedly described the trip as historic and groundbreaking, including one senior official who brashly said without evidence that Trump had "united the entire Muslim world." 
 
 Addressing U.S. troops Saturday at a Sicilian air base moments before departing for Washington, Trump himself declared: "I think we hit a home run." 
 
 Trump boarded Air Force One without having held a single news conference on the trip — a break in presidential precedent that allowed him to avoid facing tough questions about his foreign policy or the raging controversies involving the investigations into his campaign's possible ties to Russia. Instead, the White House hoped to let the images of Trump in statesman-like settings tell the story of his first trip abroad, and perhaps ease questions about his preparedness for the delicate world of international diplomacy. 
 
 Yet those questions are sure to persist, particularly given Trump's remarkable lashing of NATO allies in Brussels. Standing alongside his counterparts, the president effectively accused countries who do not meet NATO's goal of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product of sponging off American taxpayers. He left some allies, already nervous about Russia's saber-rattling and Trump's public affection for Russian President Vladimir Putin, further flummoxed when he ended his remarks without making an explicit statement of support for Article 5, the common defense clause that underpins the 68-year-old military alliance. 
 
 "The mood of Article 5, the idea that we are all in this together, is not the mood he conveyed," said Jon Alterman, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The mood he conveyed is you guys are a bunch of freeloaders." 
 
 Some European leaders believe Trump can still be coaxed away from his controversial campaign positions. At the Group of 7 summit in the coastal town of Taormina, leaders launched an aggressive, behind-the-scenes campaign to get him to stay in the Paris climate accord. 
 
 While Trump emerged from the summit without a final decision on the Paris pact, he declared in a tweet Saturday that he will make a final decision next week. 
 
 Trump's return home Saturday night also shifts attention back to the storm clouds of scandal hovering over the White House. In a briefing with reporters Saturday, White House officials shifted uncomfortably and refused to comment when asked about reports that Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, tried to set up secret communications with Russia after the election. 
 
 Trump's nine-day, five-stop international tour resulted in few tangible policy achievements. The U.S. inked a $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia and unveiled numerous business commitments in the region, though the White House never provided specific details about the scope of the agreements. At NATO, the White House touted the alliance's commitment to boosting defense spending, though the resolution was essentially a continuation of a pact agreed to two years earlier. 
 
 Still, the trip offered the clearest picture to date of how Trump plans to put his imprint on America's relationship with the world. 
 
 From the start, he set a new direction. Instead of following presidential tradition by making his international debut in a neighboring democracy like Canada or Mexico, Trump flew to Saudi Arabia, the repressive desert kingdom. 
 
 He appeared particularly comfortable in the setting. In Riyadh, he received a lavish, gold-plated welcome: His image was projected across the facade of the luxury hotel where he stayed, horses flanked his motorcade as it moved to one of the king's desert palaces and an extravagant celebration was held in his honor, complete with a traditional Saudi sword dance. 
 
 Trump betrayed no awkwardness at relishing the warm embrace of one of the world's most oppressive governments. Instead, he reciprocated with a pledge to not publicly chastise the ruling royal family for its crackdown on political dissent. 
 
 "We are not here to lecture — we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship," Trump said. 
 
 Trump was lavishly feted in Israel as well, embraced by a prime minister who despised his predecessor and was eager to flatter the new president. Trump received multiple standing ovations — one of his favorite measures of success — during a speech on U.S. relations with Israel. The photo of his solemn visit to the Western Wall was splashed across the front pages of Israel's newspapers. 
 
 Like many of his predecessors, Trump made a personal appeal for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. But he never uttered the words "two-state solution," the longtime U.S. policy plan that would create a separate homeland for Palestinians. He also made no mention of new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a major point of contention for the Palestinians. 
 
 The smaller moments of the president's trip were endlessly dissected as well, from first lady Melania Trump's apparent reluctance to hold her husband's hand on occasion to his shoving aside of Montenegro's prime minister to get to the front of a pack of leaders at a NATO photo opportunity. At the G-7, it was Trump's interactions with other leaders that commanded attention. 
 
 The six other heads of state took a short walk from one event to the next, chatting convivially as they strolled through the narrow Sicilian streets. Trump hung back, deciding against joining his peers. 
 
 Instead, he got in a golf cart and the American president's mini-motorcade drove the route alone, Trump once more having charted his own course. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Jonathan Lemire at http://twitter.com/jonlemire
– "No president has ever visited the homelands and holy sites of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths all on one trip," says National Security Adviser HR McMaster—and President Trump's critics say there are probably good reasons why. Trump departs Friday for an ambitious first foreign trip as president that will include Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican, a NATO meeting in Belgium, and the G7 summit in Sicily. A roundup of coverage: Trump's first stop on the nine-day trip will be Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to address the leaders of 50 Muslim countries, CNN reports. McMaster says Trump's goal is "to unite peoples of all faiths around a common vision of peace, progress, and prosperity," and his speech in Riyadh will focus on the need to "confront radical ideology" and allow a "peaceful vision of Islam" to dominate. Trump's second stop will be Israel, where his plans include visits to the Western Wall and the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Newsweek reports that the president had to call off a planned speech at the ancient hilltop site of Masada after Israel declined to allow a helicopter landing. A source tell the Jerusalem Post that Trump will not propose a peace plan at this point, though he may state his opposition to Israeli settlement expansion. The president's European stops will include meetings with Pope Francis and dozens of other leaders and heads of state, Time reports in a detailed look at his itinerary. Among them will be new French President Emmanuel Macron, who will meet Trump for a working lunch May 25. Sources tell the New York Times that Trump has complained to friends that he doesn't really want to go on the trip. His critics, fearing the possibility of monumental gaffes, would also like him to stay home. Stephen J. Hadley, George W. Bush's national security adviser, however, says such trips are tightly controlled and Trump will probably be at ease on the world stage. "Remember, Trump is a nothing if not a showman," Hadley says. “He’s been very public for decades and very conscious about how he comes across in the media." Heritage Foundation foreign policy expert James Carofano tells the Washington Post that the trip abroad will be an opportunity for Trump to have a fresh start after his troubles in DC. "The great thing about a trip, they control the environment, you control the interaction, you control the agenda and you control the press access," he says. "If you fumble on one of these trips, it’s nobody’s fault but your own." Larry Sabato, head of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, disagrees. He tells the AP no other president has made a first foreign trip amid so much controversy. "He's already a president viewed skeptically by much of the world. And while the pictures from the trip may be great, the White House can't change the headlines that will follow him wherever he goes," he says. Melania Trump will be accompanying her husband on the trip, and her itinerary includes G7 and NATO spousal programs as well as speaking to American military families in Italy, Politico reports. "This will not just be an opportunity to support my husband as he works on important matters of national security and foreign relations, it will also be my honor to visit and speak with women and children from different countries," she said in a statement Thursday. (Trump is rumored to be planning to appoint Callista Gingrich as the US ambassador to the Vatican.)