Seconds after his plane was wheels down in Paris, Donald Trump attacked host Emmanuel Macron for suggesting that Europe needs to raise a standing army to protect itself from China, Russia and the United States.
Trump touched down in France with first lady Melania Trump at 10:07 pm, according to traveling press. Fewer than three minutes later, at 10:10 pm, he announced his arrival by starting a fight on Twitter with Macon.
‘President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!’ he tweeted.
Seconds after his plane was wheels down in Paris, Donald Trump attacked host Emmanuel Macron for suggesting that Europe needs to raise a standing army to protect itself from China, Russia and the United States
Trump touched down in France with first lady Melania Trump, staff and traveling press at 10:07 pm
STEADY ON: First Lady Melania Trump’s hair whipped every which way as she descended the aircraft. She had to get some help deplaning from her husband
DARK SHADOW: The president’s tweet hinted at a dark mood as he embarked on a two-night stay in Paris
He and first lady Melania Trump are on their way to France for a program for dignitaries celebrating the centennial anniversary of the cessation of hostilities in WWI that Russian President Vladimir Putin will also attend.
‘It should be a very beautiful period of time, the 100th anniversary of the ending of World War I,’ Trump said as he left the White House. ‘We have many countries — the leadership from many countries will be there, especially since they heard the United States will be there.’
Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are on their way to France for a program celebrating the centennial anniversary of the cessation of hostilities in WWI
Trump had planned to have his own procession this weekend in Washington mimicking the military parade that France puts on in Paris every year on Bastille Day
Donald Trump is looking to lessen the blow of his party’s mid-term losses and bury bad headlines about the abrupt firing of his attorney general with a weekend in Paris. Here, the pair are pictured at Elysee Palace in Paris in July of last year
After the Pentagon called off Trump’s show of American military might, the U.S. preisdent decided to join fellow world leaders in France for the annual Armistice Day celebration at the Arc de Triomphe. Macron is seen at the Arc on Armistice Day in 2017
looking to lessen the blow of his party’s mid-term losses and bury bad headlines about the abrupt firing of his attorney general with a weekend in Paris.
Trump had planned to have his own procession this weekend in Washington, mimicking the military parade that France puts on in Paris every year on Bastille Day.
The Pentagon called off the show of American military might after the projected price of the vanity project hit $92 million, allegedly over a dispute with the local government over costs, and Trump decided to join fellow world leaders in France for the annual Armistice Day celebration at the Arc de Triomphe.
He left for Paris on Friday morning with plans to return late Sunday evening. He’ll have a full week of meetings in Washington after that before his traditional Thanksgiving break.
Originally, Trump had planned to unwind with a leisurely golf trip to Ireland after he’d finished in France. He’s been moonlighting for nearly two months straight at campaign rallies as his party’s top surrogate in the evenings and on most weekends.
Facing protests as massive as the ones he encountered in the U.K. over the summer and a foreign government that was openly distasteful of him, Trump cancelled the visit to his Irish golf property and scaled back the tour of Europe to the Armistice Day activities in France.
The White House is positioning the weekend trip as ‘a historic opportunity to honor the sacrifices of those who gave their lives for our freedom’ in the war that ended 100 years ago on Sunday.
‘The President’s participation in these events will also serve as the reminder of the important role that the United States has played and continues to play in ensuring peace and security in Europe,’ a senior official said.
Aside from a formal slate of events for world leaders in France, the president will visit a visit two cemeteries: one for American soldiers at the Belleau Wood battlefield and the Suresnes American Cemetery. He’s also set to participate in a closed-door meet and greet with embassy staff.
While Europe knows Nov. 11 as Armistice Day, the date belongs to the veterans in America, where it is a holiday that is recognized by the federal government.
The White House says that Trump will deliver traditional Veterans Day remarks at Suresnes, as such. His administration’s efforts to improve vets’ health care is likely to come up.
Originally, Trump had planned to unwind with a leisurely golf trip to Ireland after he’d finished in France. He’s been moonlighting for nearly two months straight at campaign rallies as his party’s top surrogate in the evenings and on most weekends
Trump told reporters traveling with him on Monday that he expected the meeting with Putin was likely to take place in Buenos Aires
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump exit the Marine One helicopter heading to Air Force One prior to departing Washington for Paris
Trump’s domestic problems may not follow him to Europe, where his direct interactions with the media were expected to be limited. It wasn’t a certainty that Trump would have to address difficulties on trade and security with Europe, either. His interactions with foreign leaders in Paris are also being kept to a minimum.
His only scheduled sit-down is with French President Emmanuel Macron. The rest of his conversations with leaders will take part at Sunday’s ceremony and a Saturday night dinner.
Trade is a topic is ‘very likely something that would come up’ in the bilateral with Macron, but not necessarily from the president, a White House official said.
The United States’ sanctions on Iran for terror financing, ballistic missile testing and nuclear activity – which were fully reinstated this week – was expected to be at the top of the leaders’ discussion list, however. Businesses in Europe will suffer mightily if they continue to do business with Iran and have not received a U.S. waiver.
Syria, and the continued war and humanitarian crisis there, will also be a subject, U.S. officials said.
A possible summit with Putin was postponed to later this month in Argentina at the G20. They’ll have informal conversation in Paris at the events but they will not sit down for talks in Paris four days after the election U.S. officials say they attempted to interfere in.
‘The only bilateral meeting that we have planned for the President will be with President Macron. We do not plan a separate bilateral meeting with President Putin or with other leaders in Paris,’ a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.
Melania wore a checkered trench coat and Louboutin boots to board the aircraft
A White House staff member carries personal luggage and papers for Trump and Melania as a U.S. military aide carries briefcases containing the military launch codes known as the nuclear football to Air Force One
The Trump administration says that Russia habitually violates the outdated treaty that failed to imagine a world in which rising powers that were not party to the deal became nuclear capable
Trump and Macron participate in a grand welcome ceremony at the White House in April
Trump told reporters traveling with him on Monday that he expected the meeting with Putin was likely to take place in Buenos Aires.
‘Getting along with Russia, China, and all of them would be a good thing; I’ve said it for a long time. So we’ll have plenty of meetings. But I’m not sure that we’ll have a meeting in Paris — probably not,’ the president stated.
The United States faces a new challenge from Macron, who promoted the creation of a European Army to protect the continent this week as he paid homage to soldiers who died in the first world war.
‘When I see President Trump announcing that he’s quitting a major disarmament treaty, who is the main victim? Europe and its security,’ Macron reportedly said in Verdun of Trump’s announcement that he is exiting a Cold War-era pact with Russia that regulates the two powers’ nuclear activity.
The Trump administration says that Russia habitually violates the outdated treaty that failed to imagine a world in which rising powers that were not party to the deal became nuclear capable.
Macron said that Europe must learn to defend ‘itself better alone, without just depending on the United States’ and it will not be able to do that that ‘unless we decide to have a true European army.’
They study a grave at the cemetery in France, which honours more than 72,000 men from the Armed Forces forces who died
Mrs May and Mr Macron smile as they stand together next to flag bearers at the First World War Thiepval Memorial today
Mrs May and Mr Macron lay a wreath at the Thiepval Memorial today to commemorate 100 year’s since the conflict’s end
French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Theresa May walk through the WWI graves at the Thiepval Memorial in France
The proposal acknowledged the reality of the ‘America First’ doctrine and unabashed nationalism that drove Trump to power two years ago and was reaffirmed in by large swaths of the country last Tuesday.
Trump has played chicken with NATO nations failing to live up to their expected contributions and pulled the United States out of international agreements regulating emissions, nuclear activity and trade.
In his wake, Trump has left a power vacuum that allies of the United States worry that China and Russia will fill. He has in some ways blunted the countries’ rise with sanctions and tariffs for malign activities such as election meddling and intellectual property theft. But he has only acted out against them when it’s in the United States’ direct interests.
He has also put old allies of the United States on notice in the arenas of security and trade.
Trump will see Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Paris but they’ll wait until the G20 summit to hold a formal meeting in Argentina
U.S. and French flags flutter at the graves of U.S. soldiers, most of them killed in the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood, at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery. Trump will visit the cemetery and the nearby battlefield while he is in France
At the United Nations, the president told fellow leaders during a speech that the United States is no longer content to be the world’s policeman or its piggybank.
‘We believe that trade must be fair and reciprocal. The United States will not be taken advantage of any longer,’ he said.
At the beginning of the very same remarks at the General Assembly session in New York, leaders audibly laughed at him as he began one of his routine boasts about the success of his administration.
This after Trump claimed that America ‘is being respected again’ under his leadership.
He insisted later that he meant it to be a laugh line for friends in the room. ‘They weren’t laughing at me,’ he told press. ‘They were laughing with me.’