“If it happens, it happens. If it’s about border security, I’m willing to do anything,” Trump said during a meeting with top Republican lawmakers, citing the need to protect the nation’s borders. “If it’s about border security, I’m willing to do what has to be done.”

Trump had previously suggested to lawmakers that he would not allow a government shutdown before the November midterm elections amid anxiety among Republicans seeking to maintain their majorities in the House and the Senate.

Lawmakers face a Sept. 30 deadline to pass spending bills to keep the government open.

Seated with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders, Trump said they would discuss “how we can responsibly fund the government, protect American taxpayers and defend American security.”

He said the lawmakers had made tremendous progress.

Congress is aiming to approve at least three compromise bills that would fund a large portion of the government, including the military and most civilian agencies, before the new budget year begin Oct. 1.

Asked Wednesday whether he intended to urge Trump to not force a government shutdown this fall, Ryan, R-Wis., said, “No, I don’t think I have to do that.”

Ryan said he and Trump “talk all the time,” and he added, “That’s not in anyone’s interest, and he knows that. I think the results will prove itself.”

Later on Fox News, McConnell said there was “zero” chance of a shutdown and said a battle over the border wall should wait until after the voters have spoken.

“We still are in favor of the wall, we still want to get funding for the wall, but we think the best time to have that discussion is after the election,” McConnell said.

Asked about past Trump comments that he might need a shutdown to win money for border security, No. 3 House GOP leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana told reporters: “Clearly the president campaigned on securing the border and building a wall. We strongly support those efforts.”

But Scalise acknowledged unresolved differences between the House and Senate. House legislation provides $5 billion for wall construction for next year, while the Senate version has $1.6 billion.

Democrats and some Republicans oppose the wall as ineffective and a waste of money.

Congress is aiming to approve at least three compromise bills that would fund a large portion of the government, including the military and most civilian agencies, before the new budget year begins Oct. 1. A measure financing the Homeland Security Department, which would include money for the border wall, is considered likely to be extended temporarily until after the election.

The White House said in a statement that President Donald Trump was monitoring the situation in the rebel-held Idlib province, where it said millions of innocent civilians are under threat of an attack by Assad’s government.

Trump has warned that an attack “would be a reckless escalation of an already tragic conflict,” the White House said, risking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. “Let us be clear, it remains our firm stance that if President Bashar al-Assad chooses to again use chemical weapons, the United States and its Allies will respond swiftly and appropriately,” the statement read.

The U.S. has twice struck Syrian military installations in response to alleged poison gas attacks. The Syrian government denies ever using chemical weapons.

The Trump administration declaration came after the Kremlin criticized Trump’s warnings against the expected offensive in the northern province, where Syria’s rebels are holed up and have come under intense airstrikes.

Russia has been a key supporter of Assad and complained about militants in Idlib targeting its own facilities.

Trump on Monday sent a tweet warning the Syrian government and its allies against a “reckless attack” on the Idlib province. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the militants pose a terrorist threat, calling Idlib a “hornets’ nest of terrorists.”

Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Twitter that Trump had asked National Security Adviser John Bolton to invite Putin, adding, “Those discussions are already underway.”

The invitation was announced hours after the president tweeted that he looked forward to “our second meeting” as he defended his performance Monday at the summit in which the two leaders conferred on a range of issues, including terrorism, Israeli security, nuclear proliferation and North Korea.

“There are many answers, some easy and some hard, to these problems … but they can ALL be solved!” Trump tweeted.

The announcement of the invitation came as the White House sought to clean up days of confounding statements on Russian interference in the 2016 election that sent Trump to the presidency.

Trump’s public doubting of Russia’s responsibility in a joint news conference with Putin on Monday provoked withering criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike and forced the president to make a rare public admission of error.

On Thursday, the White House said Trump “disagrees” with Putin’s offer to swap the questioning of 12 Russians accused of 2016 election interference for an interview with the former U.S. ambassador.

The White House retreated from what Trump had called Putin’s “incredible offer” during the Helsinki summit, revising its position just before the Senate voted overwhelmingly against the plan. It was Congress’ first formal rebuke of Trump’s actions from the summit and its aftermath.

Sanders said Putin’s proposal was “made in sincerity,” but Trump “disagrees with it.” She said the U.S. hopes Putin will have the indicted Russians “come to the United States to prove their innocence or guilt.”

Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann in Aspen, Colorado, and Mary Clare Jalonick, Matthew Daly, Tami Abdollah and Susannah George in Washington contributed to this report.

SINGAPORE — President Donald Trump, the former reality television star with a knack for theatrics, tried a dose of Hollywood drama as he sought to sway North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their historic summit.

Using an iPad, Trump said, he showed Kim a short video made on his behalf, laying out the opportunities that could come with an agreement to eliminate North Korea’s nuclear arsenal — a story about “two men, two leaders, one destiny.”

Reminiscent of a movie trailer, the film shows images of warplanes and artillery while a narrator suggests in English and Korean that “a new world can begin today, one of friendship, respect and goodwill.”

“We had it made up. I showed it to him today, actually during the meeting, toward the end of the meeting and I think he loved it,” Trump said during a news conference. The video was broadcast on big screens at the start of Tuesday’s press conference.

Trump said the video was played for about eight members of the North Korean delegation, “and I thought they were fascinated by it.” The president added: “That could very well be the future.”

“I showed it because I really want him to do something,” he said.

Long an authoritarian state, North Korea has used propaganda films to shape public perception of its leaders, often portraying Kim and his family as gods. The current leader’s father, Kim Jong Il, was a longtime movie buff who had thousands of titles in his film collection and once led North Korea’s ministry of propaganda.

Trump, who starred on NBC’s reality show “The Apprentice” before entering politics, told reporters he was “not concerned at all” that the film could be used as propaganda, adding, “We could use that video for other countries.”

It wasn’t the first time video was used as a way to connect with Kim. At the end of a summit in April on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in watched a highly produced video, backed by inspirational music, that highlighted the ceremonies they had just conducted during the day.

During his exchanges with Trump, Kim seemed to buy into the cinematography of their unlikely meeting, saying through a translator, “many people in the world that will think of this as a scene from a … science fiction movie.”

The short film sought to place Kim as a central character living in a key moment in history.

Against a piercing musical score, the narrator dramatically asks, “What if? Can history be changed? Will the world embrace this change? And when can this moment in history begin? It comes down to a choice, on this day, in this time, at this moment, the world will be watching, listening, anticipating, hoping.”

The video suggests that Kim could “be the hero of his people. Will he shake the hand of peace and enjoy prosperity like he has never seen, a great life, or more isolation? Which path will be chosen?” The narrator references some of Trump’s main arguments to Kim, namely that eliminating his nuclear stockpile would allow his country to benefit economically and re-enter the world community.

The trailer portrays Trump and Kim as the two leading characters of the film — but the outcome is yet unknown. The narrator says the film is “featuring President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un, in a meeting to remake history, to shine in the sun, one moment, one choice, what if? The future remains to be written.”

Thomas reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Darlene Superville in Washington and Foster Klug in Singapore contributed to this report.

Pompeo met with Kim last week in North Korea, helping set the stage for Trump’s historic summit with the North Korean leader in Singapore on June 12.

Trump’s goal is for North Korea to get rid of its nuclear weapons in a permanent and verifiable way. In return, the U.S. is willing to help the impoverished nation strengthen its economy.

Pompeo was asked on “Fox News Sunday” whether the U.S. was in effect telling Kim he could stay in power if he met the U.S. demands. Pompeo said: “We will have to provide security assurances, to be sure.”

The top U.S. diplomat did not elaborate, but his comment could refer to the type of assurances North Korea has sought in the past. A statement issued during international negotiations with North Korea in 2005 over its nuclear weapons development said the “United States affirmed that it has no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and has no intention to attack or invade (North Korea) with nuclear or conventional weapons.”

The North has said it needs nuclear weapons to counter what it believes is a U.S. effort to strangle its economy and overthrow the Kim government.

“Make no mistake about it, America’s interest here is preventing the risk that North Korea will launch a nuclear weapon into L.A. or Denver or to the very place we’re sitting here this morning,” Pompeo said from Washington. “That’s our objective, that’s the end state the president has laid out and that’s the mission that he sent me on this past week, to put us on the trajectory to go achieve that.”

Pressed in a separate interview on whether the U.S. would seek regime change, Pompeo said “only time will tell how these negotiations will proceed.”

“The president uses language that says ‘we’ll see,’” Pompeo told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” ″The American leadership under President Trump has its eyes wide open.”

North Korea said Saturday that all of the tunnels at the country’s northeastern nuclear test site will be destroyed by explosion in less than two weeks, ahead of Kim’s summit with Trump. Observation and research facilities and ground-based guard units will also be removed, the North said. Pompeo praised it as “one step along the way.”

John Bolton, the president’s national security adviser, described the types of steps that North Korea would need to take as part of a denuclearization process, including the potential involvement of a processing center in Tennessee.

“The implementation of the decision means getting rid of all the nuclear weapons, dismantling them, taking them to Oak Ridge, Tennessee,” Bolton said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week.” ″It means getting rid of the uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing capabilities,” adding the process would also need to address North Korea’s ballistic missiles.

“I don’t think anybody believes you’re going to sign the complete ending of the nuclear program in one day. But we are also very much interested in operationalizing the commitment as quickly as possible,” Bolton said.

Bolton said in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” that North Korea should not “look for economic aid from us. I think what the prospect for North Korea is to become a normal nation, to behave and interact with the rest of the world the way South Korea does.”

“The prospect for North Korea is unbelievably strong if they’ll commit to denuclearization. That’s what the president is going to say,” he said.

Pompeo said private-sector Americans could help rebuild North Korea’s energy grid and develop the country’s infrastructure. He described the possibility of American agriculture being used to “support North Korea so they can eat meat and have healthy lives.”

South Korea has said Kim has shown an interest in dealing away his nuclear weapons in return for economic benefits. But it remains unclear if Kim would ever fully relinquish the weapons he probably views as his only guarantee of survival.

North Korea for decades has been pushing a concept of “denuclearization” that bears no resemblance to the American definition. The North has vowed to pursue nuclear development unless Washington removes its 28,500 troops from South Korea and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan.

The White House has said withdrawal of thousands of U.S. troops from South Korea is “not on the table.”

White House officials said the president intends to take some time finding the right person to lead the sprawling federal agency with 360,000 employees serving 9 million veterans. It’s a marked contrast from how President Donald Trump picked Jackson for the post in March after firing former Obama administration official David Shulkin following an ethics scandal and mounting rebellion within the agency.

White House aides were meeting Wednesday with former Florida Rep. Jeff Miller, a Republican congressman who once led the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. And White House staffers planned to meet Thursday with Ron Nichol, a senior adviser to The Boston Consulting Group, who helped oversee the president’s transition.

White House officials are also considering acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie for a permanent role. Wilkie, a former Pentagon undersecretary for personnel and readiness, is well-regarded within the administration, including among White House chief of staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations, said none of the potential candidates to lead the VA have meetings scheduled with Trump.

Jackson withdrew last week amid allegations related to his workplace practices, including improperly prescribing medication. The president has complained that Jackson, who denied the allegations, faced unfair attacks on his character.

Trump made the decision to nominate Jackson, a career military doctor who lacked significant management experience, without consulting most of his senior advisers. While Jackson was well-liked in Washington and drew praise from Obama administration officials he’d treated, even many Republicans were skeptical of his ability to lead the VA.

The officials said Trump has — at least temporarily — delegated the search process for the VA to his advisers, in an effort to avoid more Cabinet embarrassment.

The president has indicated he intends to pick someone with a more political background for the role, hoping such a person would better navigate the turbulent confirmation process in a narrowly divided Senate.

Associated Press writer Hope Yen contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump sent mixed signals about his choice to lead the sprawling veterans’ agency, suggesting during a White House news conference that Jackson may want to withdraw because of unfair scrutiny. But the president privately urged his nominee to keep fighting to win Senate confirmation, and Jackson showed few signs of backing down.

A watchdog report requested in 2012 and reviewed by The Associated Press found that Jackson and a rival physician exhibited “unprofessional behaviors” as they engaged in a power struggle over the White House medical unit. The six-page report by the Navy’s Medical Inspector General found a lack of trust in the leadership and low morale among staff members, who described the working environment as “being caught between parents going through a bitter divorce.”

“There is a severe and pervasive lack of trust in the leadership that has deteriorated to the point that staff walk on ‘eggshells,‘” the assessment found.

The inspector general report reviewed by The AP included no references to improper prescribing of drugs or the use of alcohol, separate allegations revealed by a Senate committee.

The audit appeared to contradict public statements from Jackson, who declined Tuesday to answer reporters’ questions about the allegations. He gave no indication he would withdraw and denied the existence of any inspector general report detailing troubling behavior.

After the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee abruptly postponed his confirmation hearing, which had been set for Wednesday, Jackson visited lawmakers to assure them he was fit to lead the VA.

“I’m looking forward to getting it rescheduled and answering everybody’s questions,” he said in video captured by MSNBC, referring to his hearing.

During a White House news conference, Trump insisted he would stand behind Jackson, calling the White House doctor “one of the finest people that I have met.” But he questioned why Jackson would want to put himself through the confirmation fight, which he characterized as unfair.

“I wouldn’t do it,” Trump said in the East Room, standing next to French President Emmanuel Macron.

“What does he need it for? What do you need this for? To be abused by a bunch of politicians that aren’t thinking nicely about our country?” Trump asked.

Trump said Jackson, who has been a White House physician since 2006, would make a decision soon. Jackson met privately with Trump Tuesday afternoon in the Oval Office and the president urged him to keep fighting to win confirmation, according to a White House official briefed on the meeting. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions, said Jackson denied the allegations.

Digging in, the White House released handwritten reports from Trump and former President Barack Obama praising Jackson’s leadership and medical care, and recommending him for promotion.

Obama wrote in one report, “Promote to Rear Admiral now.” Trump wrote last year that Jackson is “A GREAT DOCTOR + LEADER – ‘2 STAR MATERIAL.’”

The White House also disputed allegations that Jackson improperly administered medication, saying the medical unit passed regular audits by the Controlled Substance Inventory Board.

A doomed VA nomination would be a political blow to the White House, which has faced criticism for sloppy vetting of Cabinet nominees and tough confirmation battles in a Senate where Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority.

Prior to Jackson’s nomination, Trump had told aides and outside advisers that he was fond of Jackson personally and was said to be particularly impressed with Jackson’s performance at the White House press room podium in January, when he offered a glowing report on the president’s physical and mental well-being.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the American people were the losers in a shaky nomination effort. The Trump Cabinet, he said, “is turning into a sad game of musical chairs.”

Trump tapped Jackson last month after firing former Obama administration official David Shulkin following an ethics scandal and mounting rebellion within the agency. But Jackson has faced numerous questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, as well as veterans groups, about whether he has the experience to manage the massive department of 360,000 employees serving 9 million veterans.

Allegations began surfacing late last week involving Jackson’s workplace practices, including claims of inappropriate behavior and over-prescribing prescription drugs, according to two aides granted anonymity to discuss the situation. The complaints the White House heard include that he oversaw a poor work environment and that he had drunk alcohol on the job, according to an administration official who demanded anonymity to speak on a sensitive personnel matter.

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee said it would postpone indefinitely Jackson’s hearing to give it more time to sort through the allegations.

Detailing the allegations to NPR, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, the committee’s top Democrat, said more than 20 current and retired military personnel had made complaints to the committee about Jackson. They included claims that Jackson was “repeatedly drunk” while on travel with Obama and that on overseas trips he excessively handed out prescription drugs to help travelers sleep and wake up.

Tester later told CNN that Jackson was known inside the White House as “the candy man,” because he would hand out prescription drugs “like candy.”

Jackson is also accused of creating a “toxic work environment,” Tester said on NPR.

“He is the physician for the president, and in the previous administration we were told the stories he was repeatedly drunk while on duty, where his main job was to take care of the most powerful man in the world. That’s not acceptable,” Tester said.

Asked if Jackson’s nomination is still viable, the committee chairman, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., responded, “We’ll see.”

The two lawmakers sent a letter to Trump on Tuesday requesting additional information about Jackson. It demands any communication between the Pentagon and the White House for the last 12 years regarding “allegations or incidents” involving him.

The 2012 assessment reviewed by the AP suggested the White House consider replacing Jackson or Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman — or both. Kuhlman was the physician to Obama at the time, and had previously held the role occupied by Jackson: director of the White House medical unit.

According to the report, Jackson admitted he had failed to shield the White House medical unit from the leadership drama. He is quoted saying he was willing to do what was necessary to straighten out the command, even if it “meant finding a new position in Navy Medicine.”

The report stated that the “vast majority” of those interviewed said Kuhlman had “irrevocably damaged his ability to effectively lead.” It added that “many also believe that CAPT Jackson has exhibited poor leadership,” but attributed those failures to the relationship with Kuhlman.

The report quoted unnamed members of the White House medical unit who, while participating in a focus group, used phrases like “Worst command ever,” ″No one trusts anyone” and “The leaders are child-like.” Jackson was named physician to the President in 2013, after Kuhlman left the unit entirely.

Still, a follow-up assessment was done in 2013, and found that the climate in the office had improved a great deal, according to an official familiar with the report. At that point, Jackson was still in the office, but Kuhlman had left.

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Catherine Lucey, Lolita Baldor, Alan Fram and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

Trump issued his warning alongside French President Emmanuel Macron in the Oval Office, where the two allies discussed the multinational nuclear agreement, the war in Syria and trade issues during a day of meetings at the White House.

Speaking at a joint news conference Tuesday, Trump appeared to be more in line with Macron’s push for a longer-term U.S. presence in Syria. Trump, who announced weeks ago that he would withdraw American troops, said Macron reinforced the idea of a potential Iranian takeover of territory liberated from the Islamic State group.

“We’ll be coming home,” Trump said, “but we want to leave a strong and lasting footprint.”

Macron told Trump that together the U.S. and France would defeat terrorism, curtail weapons of mass destruction in North Korea and Iran and act together on behalf of the planet, a reference to Macron’s work to revive a U.S. role in the Paris climate accord.

As for Iran, Trump was asked by reporters if he might be willing to stay in the Iran agreement. He replied, “People know my views on the Iran deal. … It’s insane, it’s ridiculous. It should have never been made.”

One of Macron’s main objectives during his three-day visit to Washington is to persuade Trump to stay in the accord, which is aimed at restricting Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. Trump, skeptical of the pact’s effectiveness, has been eager to pull out as a May 12 deadline nears.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned the Trump administration Tuesday that pulling out would undermine America’s talks with North Korea by proving the U.S. reneges on its promises.

He told The Associated Press in an interview that if Trump withdraws, Iran would “most likely” abandon the deal as well. Speaking before Trump’s comments with Macron, Zarif added that Iran would no longer be bound by the deal’s international obligations. That would free Iran to resume enrichment activity beyond the limits imposed by the 2015 accord.

Trump remains publicly undecided on the deal, saying Tuesday “no one knows” what he’ll do at the deadline he set to determine America’s position. But he reminded his French counterpart of what he sees as flaws in the agreement, which he said fails to address ballistic missiles or Iran’s activities in Yemen or Syria.

Macron told reporters that he and Trump would look at the Iran deal “in a wider regional context,” taking into account the situation in Syria. “We have a common objective, we want to make sure there’s no escalation and no nuclear proliferation in the region. We now need to find the right path forward,” Macron said.

Trump suggested he was open to “doing something” on the Iran agreement as long as it was done “strongly.” He told Macron, “We could have at least an agreement among ourselves very quickly.” But when he was asked by reporters what that agreement would be, Trump said, “You’ll find out.”

During the press conference, Macron added that he and Trump discussed pursuing a “new agreement” with Iran on the broader regional concerns, including Syria. But it was not clear whether Trump would be willing to keep the U.S. in the current deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in the meantime.

U.S. military and intelligence officials have urged Trump not to pull out of the agreement, arguing it has halted Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump also informed Macron that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wanted to meet “as soon as possible.” The president, who once derided Kim as “Little Rocket Man,” said the North Korean dictator had been “very open” and “very honorable” so far.

Domestic concerns were also near the surface for Trump. He refused to answer a reporter’s question as to whether he is considering a pardon for his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, whose office was raided by the FBI. Trump called it “a stupid question.” Cohen has not been charged in the case.

As Trump hosted the French president for the first official state visit of his administration, he and Macron lavished praise — and even a pair of kisses — on one another Tuesday. “It’s an honor to call you my friend,” Trump said, after predicting Macron would be a historic leader of France.

In a lighter moment, Trump and Macron demonstrated some of the chemistry that has marked their relationship. The U.S. president brushed something off Macron’s suit jacket, saying, “We have a very special relationship, in fact I’ll get that little piece of dandruff off.” Trump added, “We have to make him perfect — he is perfect.”

The meetings followed a pomp-filled welcome ceremony on the South Lawn. Trump said before an audience of U.S. soldiers and members of his Cabinet that the relationship he forged with Macron at the start of his presidency was a testament to the “enduring friendship that binds our two nations.” He thanked the French leader for his “steadfast partnership” in the recent missile strike in response to the chemical attack in Syria.

Macron said, “History is calling us. It is urging our people to find the fortitude that has guided us in the most difficult of times. France and with it, Europe, and the United States have an appointment with history.”

The social highlight of Macron’s visit comes Tuesday night with a lavish state dinner at the White House. About 150 guests are expected to dine on rack of lamb and nectarine tart and enjoy an after-dinner performance by the Washington National Opera. On Monday night, the leaders took a helicopter tour of Washington landmarks and had dinner at the Potomac River home of George Washington in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Tuesday’s meetings follow the collaboration by the U.S., France and Britain in missile strikes in Syria earlier this month to respond to the alleged chemical weapons attack. The U.S. has 2,000 troops in Syria assisting local Arab and Kurdish fighters against IS, though Trump has resisted a deeper U.S. involvement and is eager to withdraw completely from Syria.

Macron’s three-day visit to Washington underscores the importance that both sides attach to the relationship: Macron, who calls Trump often, has emerged as something of a “Trump whisperer” at a time when the American president’s relationships with other European leaders are more strained. Trump, who attaches great importance to the optics of pageantry and ceremony, chose to honor Macron with the first state visit of his administration as he woos the French president.

Trump ended his first year in office without receiving a foreign leader on a state visit, the first president in nearly 100 years to fail to do so. He was Macron’s guest last July at the annual Bastille Day military parade in the center of Paris. Macron and his wife also took Trump and first lady Melania Trump on a tour of Napoleon’s tomb and whisked them up in the Eiffel Tower for dinner overlooking the City of Light.

Macron was welcomed back to the White House on Tuesday with a traditional arrival ceremony featuring nearly 500 members of the U.S. military and a booming 21-gun salute. He was also attending a State Department lunch hosted by Vice President Mike Pence.

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Jonathan Lemire contributed.

LIMA, Peru — Thousands of miles from home, Vice President Mike Pence was thrust into a new, more immediate, role on the world stage Saturday: explaining President Donald Trump’s military strike in Syria to a summit of Latin America leaders.

Hours after Trump hailed the missile strike targeting the Syria’s suspected chemical weapons — tweeting, “Mission Accomplished!” — Pence defended the president while building support among U.S. allies for the joint strikes with Britain and France.

“The objective of the mission the commander in chief gave our military forces and our allies was completely accomplished — with swift professionalism,” Pence told reporters, noting there were “no reported civilian casualties.”

Later, speaking in a cavernous hall of world leaders at the Summit of the Americas, Pence expressed gratitude to Canada, Colombia and other nations that had voiced support for the strike and urged “every nation in this hemisphere of freedom” to support the military action.

Pence’s to-do list included smoothing over differences with Mexico, America’s southern neighbor, amid unease over Trump’s decision to send troops to the border and harsh rhetoric on immigration. And with tensions simmering over trade, Pence expressed hope alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the three nations could soon agree to a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement.

And while Trump grapples with the ongoing Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, Pence sought to draw a bright line against Vladimir Putin’s alliance with Syria following the suspected chemical attack. “Our message to Russia is that you’re on the wrong side of history,” Pence said.

Trump often improvises his remarks and is known for bold declarations in person and on his Twitter account. Pence, meanwhile, tends to be more scripted in his exchanges and frequently glanced down at highlighted index cards as he spoke to Latin American leaders here.

Shortly before Trump’s address to the nation Friday night, Pence was whisked away from the summit in his motorcade so he could return to his hotel to inform congressional leaders of the pending missile strikes. Pence watched Trump’s speech from his hotel suite, joined by aides.

Unlike past appearances at international summits, the vice president had to dive into the packed agenda on short notice. He learned only Tuesday that he would be attending in Trump’s place so the president could manage the U.S. response to Syria.

In meeting after meeting, Pence offered a low-key, extended hand.

Seeking rapprochement with Mexico, which has been at odds with Trump over the border wall and immigration, Pence said the topic of funding for Trump’s long-promised border wall did not come up in his meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Pence said they simply had a difference of opinion and some issues were “set aside, for a later date.” Left unsaid was whether Pence’s overtures might eventually lead to a joint Trump-Pena Nieto meeting, their first.

Seated alongside Trudeau, Pence said there was a “real possibility” the U.S. could reach a deal with Canada and Mexico on NAFTA “within the next several weeks.” Trump has long assailed the trade deal’s impact on U.S. workers and threatened to pull the U.S. out if he’s unhappy with the terms.

The summit also gave Pence an opportunity to press the case for tougher sanctions and more isolation of Venezuela across the region.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was barred from attending the summit over his plans to hold a presidential election that the opposition is boycotting and that many foreign governments consider a sham.

Pence urged Maduro to accept humanitarian aid as the once-prosperous nation deals with humanitarian and economic crises. But he called on the region to take a harder line on Maduro’s government, a message he intends to deliver in Brazil next month.

“The United States believes now is the time to do more, much more,” he said.

Pence left Peru on Saturday evening and arrived home in Washington early Sunday.

Trump, joined by the presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, spoke a day after the White House dangled the prospect of extending a White House welcome to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The three former Soviet states border Russia and are viewed as a bulwark against Russian incursions in Eastern Europe.

“Nobody has been tougher on Russia, but getting along with Russia would be a good thing, not a bad thing. And just about everybody agrees to that except very stupid people,” Trump said in a Cabinet Room meeting with the leaders. “We’ve been very tough on Russia, frankly.”

Trump was asked by a reporter if he considered Putin to be a friend or foe. He replied, “We’ll find out. I’ll let you know.”

Later, during a joint news conference with the leaders, Trump said he was hopeful he could have “great dialogue” with Putin but cast the ties between the U.S. and Russia as an open question.

“I think I could have a very good relationship with Russia and with President Putin and if I did, that would be a great thing and there is also a great possibility that that won’t happen,” Trump said at the news conference. “Who knows?”

Britain recently blamed Russia for the nerve-agent poisoning of a former Russian spy on British soil. Trump joined Britain in expelling scores of Russian diplomats in response.

Trump has pressured NATO members to boost their military budgets to meet a benchmark of 2 percent of their GDP on defense annually. He cited that as a benefit to the three Baltic nations, which are NATO members and remain anxious over Russia’s increasing military maneuvers in the Baltic Sea region.

In its latest effort, Russia planned to hold naval exercises on the Baltic Sea this week complete with missile tests, closing portions of the sea from civilian traffic, a concern to the Baltic nations and the Nordics.

Lithuania’s Dalia Grybauskaite told Trump that the U.S. role in NATO is essential, calling the nation a “vital voice” in the military alliance.

“We expect, together with the United States, to go ahead with deep reforms of NATO, especially on decision-making, on decisiveness, on the denial which we expect to see from Russia in case of aggression,” Grybauskaite said. “Without the United States, this is not possible.”

The Baltic leaders noted their security commitments under NATO. Grybauskaite said the Article 5 collective defense under NATO was “iron-clad for all of us” while Estonia’s Kersti Kaljulaid said the countries are “an axis of good.”

Trump said NATO “has taken many billions of dollars more than they would have had if you had crooked Hillary Clinton as president.” The 2 percent benchmark concerns how much each country spends on its own defense, not what it pays into NATO.

He also cited the expansion of imports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. to reduce reliance on Russian gas, again pointing to his vanquished 2016 presidential rival. “My opponent was into other forms of energy, like windmills,” Trump said.

The U.S. summit marked the three Baltic nations’ 100 years of independence. The countries declared their independence from Russia in 1918 but were incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940 and remained part of it until 1991.

The press conference included a brief Trump commentary on the U.S. news media. At one point, he gestured to Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis to call upon a reporter for a question, “a Baltic reporter, ideally,” Trump said, as American journalists enthusiastically raised their hands and called his name. Trump added: “Real news, not fake news.”

Eventually, Trump bypassed the American reporters and the Latvian leader and called on a Baltic reporter himself.

Associated Press writers Catherine Lucey in Washington and Jari Tanner in Helsinki contributed to this report.