Trump: Terrorism Top Issue Ahead of NATO Meeting

Ahead of meetings this week with NATO leaders, President Donald Trump called terrorism the "number one" problem facing the world and said "tremendous progress" was being made in the fight against it.

Trump, while meeting Wednesday with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel in Brussels, said the U.S. and NATO would work on "various problems," but he pointed at the suicide bombing Monday in Britain and noted that terrorism was at the top of the list.

"When you see something like that ... you realize how important it is to win this fight. And we will win this fight," he said.

Trump arrived in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon following talks with Pope Francis at the Vatican in Rome. Trump said on Twitter after the meeting that he was "more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world."

Prior to his meeting with the pope, Trump spent several days in the Middle East, meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, among others. While speaking to dozens of leaders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump called for Muslim unity in the fight against terrorism

Tillerson: 'We have to do this'

While en route to Brussels on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters that he thought the Manchester attack would only serve to strengthen ties between the U.S. and NATO in the fight against terrorism.

"I think the horrible attack in Manchester just reminded all of us just why we have to do this," said Tillerson. "We have to do it — we can't leave it for someone else to do."

On Thursday, Trump will participate in the inauguration of a new NATO headquarters and a meeting of the alliance's leaders, although it is not being termed a formal summit.

On Friday and Saturday, the president will be in Sicily for a summit of leaders of the Group of Seven nations — the seven major advanced economies as reported by the International Monetary Fund.

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