Donald Trump started his first overseas presidential journey as a rock star, walking down a red carpet when he arrived in Saudi Arabia and leaving the country with a coveted $100 billion arms deal.

One week and three countries later, the president risked losing his momentum in liberal Europe – where it was his predecessor, Barack Obama, who once received a hero's welcome.

The setting could hardly be more dramatic: Friday's G7 meetings kicked off in the Ancient Theatre of Taormina, an ancient Greek stone amphitheatre on the island of Sicily that dates from the 3rd century B.C. – complete with a nine-plane flyover trailing the Italian tricolor hues.

His first meeting before the summit officially kicked off was with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, an hour-long final shot at acquiring the kind of praise he's accustomed to before European leaders tear into him.

The president hosted Abe at the White House and his Mar-a-Lago resort back in February, where they appeared to hit it off.

And Abe was the latest world leader to publicly flatter Trump, praising his visit to the Middle East and his address to NATO on Thursday.