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In photos: Melania Trump ends her four-country Africa tour in Cairo

First Lady Melania Trump stands in front of the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images.

Melania Trump finished her six-day, four-country tour through Africa with a trip to the Egyptian pyramids and Sphinx in Giza, Egypt, on Saturday. She landed back in the States early Sunday morning.

"It took Melania Trump's first big solo international trip for her to show a different side of herself — a playful, less serious one," AP's Darlene Superville reports from Cairo.

  • The first lady told reporters before heading back to Washington: "I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear.”
  • On President Trump: "I don't always agree with what he says and I tell him that. ... But I have my own voice and my own opinions and it's very important for me that I express what I feel."
Melania Trump, alongside the First Lady of Egypt, Intissar Amer el-Sisi, greets flower girls after disembarking from her military airplane at Cairo International Airport.
Melania Trump meets with her Egyptian counterpart Intissar Amer el-Sisi at Cairo International Airport. Photo by Doug Mills/AFP via Getty Images.
Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images.
Melania Trump boards her military airplane prior to departing Cairo and heading back to the U.S. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images.
Melania Trump waves after disembarking from a military aircraft upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images.

Go deeper: Melania Trump's "very emotional" visit to ex-slave holding castle in Ghana

Go deeper

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, author of China
2 hours ago - World

Special report: Trump's U.S.-China transformation

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump began his term by launching the trade war with China he had promised on the campaign trail. By mid-2020, however, Trump was no longer the public face of China policy-making as he became increasingly consumed with domestic troubles, giving his top aides carte blanche to pursue a cascade of tough-on-China policies.

Why it matters: Trump alone did not reshape the China relationship. But his trade war shattered global norms, paving the way for administration officials to pursue policies that just a few years earlier would have been unthinkable.

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Ursula Perano
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

McConnell: Trump "provoked" Capitol mob

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday that the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was "provoked by the president and other powerful people."

Why it matters: Trump was impeached by the House last week for "incitement of insurrection." McConnell has not said how he will vote in Trump's coming Senate impeachment trial, but sources told Axios' Mike Allen that the chances of him voting to convict are higher than 50%.

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Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

GOP leaders skip Trump sendoff in favor of church with Biden

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in July. Photo by Erin Scott-Pool/Getty Images

Congressional leaders, including House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, will skip President Trump's departure ceremony in Maryland tomorrow morning in favor of attending mass with incoming President Joe Biden ahead of his inauguration, congressional sources familiar with their plans tell Axios.

Why it matters: Their decision is a clear sign of unity before Biden takes the oath of office.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow