President Donald Trump has stopped in Hawaii on the eve of his first official visit to Asia.
Trump arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam after a day long flight from Washington. He departs Saturday for Japan, the first stop on the five-nation, 11-day Asia journey.
Trump quickly donned a lei - a necklace of flowers - after getting off of Air Force One with first lady Melania Trump.
He greeted a group of people that were assembled for his arrival, signing autographs and giving high-fives to kids.
But Trump wasn't the only attraction to arrive at the base. A few in the crowd shouted for White House chief of staff John Kelly.
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"We love you General Kelly," one person shouted at the retired four-star Marine general, who is among senior White House aides travelling with Trump.
In Hawaii, Trump was huddling with leaders of the US Pacific Command, which oversees US military operations in the region. A key discussion topic likely will be the growing nuclear threat from North Korea, a crisis that will shadow Trump's entire trip.
He'll also meet with the governors of Alaska, Hawaii and Pacific US territories - all potential targets of a successful attempt by North Korea to strike the US with a nuclear-tipped missile.
Trump will also tour the USS Arizona Memorial, part of the Pearl Harbor site dedicated to the attack that drew the US into World War II.
Trump's Asia travel plans
Beset by challenges at home, President Trump has embarked on the longest trip to Asia by an American president in more than a quarter of a century, looking for help to pressure North Korea to stand down from a nuclear crisis.
Trump's tour of Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines from Friday to November 14 will take him out of Washington, where he has been beset by several issues.
These include an intensifying federal investigation into Russian meddling in last year's election, New York's recovery from an attack that killed eight people, and debates over a tax-cut plan that if approved by Congress would be his first major legislative victory.
The trip began just days after Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was indicted in the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, faced Democratic calls to appear before Congress again to clarify his previous testimony about the campaign's Russia contacts.
Amid the furore caused by the revelations, the Kremlin said on Friday a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was being discussed and Trump said it might happen.
We may have a meeting with Putin," Trump told Fox News. "And, again - Putin is very important because they can help us with North Korea. They can help us with Syria. We have to talk about Ukraine."
Trump's plan for an extended absence from Washington has alarmed allies who, after seeing a healthcare reform bid fizzle, worry the tax effort could suffer without him to keep the momentum going.
After Hawaii, Trump then will visit Japan and South Korea in search of a united front against North Korea before going to Beijing, where he will push Chinese President Xi Jinping to get tougher with Pyongyang.
Trump will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Danang, Vietnam, make a state visit to Hanoi and end his trip with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila. Trump told reporters before leaving on Friday he would spend an extra day in the Philippines.
