Paris (AP) In preparation for joining world leaders and dignitaries in Paris on Saturday to celebrate the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral following a devastating fire in 2019, Donald Trump is embarking on his first international trip as president-elect.
“French President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory and even more so,” Trump wrote in his acceptance letter earlier this week. For everyone, it will be an extremely memorable day!
Since defeating Vice President Kamala Harris last month, Macron, who has had a tumultuous history with Trump, has made it a point to build a relationship with the president-elect. However, his administration downplayed the importance of the offer, claiming that it had also been extended to other leaders who are not now in power.
Macron’s staff stated, “This is in no way exceptional, we’ve done it before,” when Trump was invited to be the president-elect of a friendly country.
Although he was invited, President Joe Biden will not be there. First lady Jill Biden will represent the United States instead, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who cited a scheduling difficulty.
Shortly after the election, Trump went to the White House for the customary meeting between departing and new presidents, which was the final time he saw the U.S. first lady.
The visit by Trump to France coincides with efforts by Macron and other European leaders to win over the president-elect and convince him to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s three-year invasion.
Macron will meet with Trump before meeting separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Notre Dame ceremony, according to the French president’s office.
During Trump’s first term, ties between France and the United States started out fairly amicable but gradually became more strained.
Trump visited France multiple times, and Macron was the honored guest at his first state dinner. However, the relationship deteriorated after Macron chastised Trump for casting doubt on America’s commitment to the mutual defense treaty and questioning the necessity of NATO.
Trump frequently made fun of Macron on the campaign trail this year, mimicking his accent and threatening to slap high tariffs on wine and champagne bottles sent to the United States if France attempted to levy taxes on American businesses.
However, following the election last month, Macron was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump.
Congratulations! @realDonaldTrump, President Early in the morning following the election, Macron made a post on X. All set to collaborate like we have for the past four years. with both your and my beliefs. with ambition and deference. for greater prosperity and peace.
A huge fire destroyed Notre Dame’s spire and threatened to ruin one of the world’s greatest architectural monuments, renowned for its captivating stained glass, while Trump was president in 2019.
He remarked on what was then Twitter that it was terrible to witness the enormous fire at Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral and gave the city some advice.
Perhaps it could be extinguished by using flying water tankers. We have to go fast! He penned it.
Shortly after, French officials seemed to respond, stating that every method was being used to put out the fire, with the exception of water-bombing aircraft, which, if employed, may cause the cathedral’s entire structure to collapse.
Trump said this weekend that he plans to appoint Charles Kushner, a real estate magnate and the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as ambassador to France.
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Reporting from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was Gomez Licon. This report was written by Jill Colvin, an AP journalist in New York.
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