Trump will make a comeback to the global scene for the Paris reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Trump's visit to Paris, where he will return to the White House in just over six weeks, comes at a pivotal time for Western European governments, who, like France, are currently caught in a tug-of-war between a waning liberal democratic order and the burgeoning right-wing movements that are determined to topple it.
Trump was invited to attend by French President Emmanuel Macron, who is currently serving his second five-year term, as he works to maintain his power abroad while stabilising a disintegrating government at home. Macron has been particularly adamant about the future of Western backing for Ukraine against Russia.
Though Ukraine's allies are worried the president-elect might press for a ceasefire or peace agreement seen as more advantageous to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has shown little interest in ending his war of conquest, Trump has maintained he has a plan to bring about an immediate peace in the region.
Macron has received increasingly unusual praise from the French press for his accomplishment in bringing Trump to Paris, where he and other pro-Ukrainian officials can present their case in such a bright environment. The French press has called it a "diplomatic coup." (The French president was also the first international leader to officially congratulate Trump on his victory last month in his bid for a second term.) Although it's unclear if Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will speak directly, the French embassy said Friday that Macron will meet with both leaders in succession before to the ceremonies.
Although the specifics of Trump's travel were worked out over a few days, the president-elect expressed his desire to go to his staff. He has always been fascinated by the cathedral, and more than five years ago, when a fire destroyed its Gothic structure on the island of Île de la Cité in the Seine River in Paris, he even tweeted out in despair. As viewers throughout the world watched in horror, its famous roof and spire were demolished.
Although they have not yet determined the exact cause, investigators think the fire was an accident.
During his first term in office, Trump wrote on April 15, 2019, "It is so terrible to witness the enormous fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris." Perhaps it could be extinguished by using flying water tankers. We have to go fast!
Firefighters disregarded his advice, and less than two hours later, Sécurité Civile, the French civil security service, posted a warning on social media in English that "water-bombing aircrafts … could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral."
Trump has long desired the high society status that Macron and other European leaders who are concerned about the direction of the upcoming administration are offering. However, some of his detractors in the US, particularly late-night comedians, were ready to make fun of the ostentatious visit.
Earlier this week, Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about how he would like to purchase it and convert it into a casino if everything goes as planned. When Trump enters the church, Jimmy Fallon joked that it will "burst right back into flames."
Macron doesn't find the situation amusing.
He nearly met his five-year goal to reconstruct and reopen the destroyed cathedral, which he had promised in the immediate wake of the fire. His continued efforts to maintain the tenuous coalition supporting Ukraine have a lot more at stake and less margin for error.
He made reference to his friendship with Trump during his first stint in the White House, which was once characterised as a bromance but didn't last, when he sent out his congrats to the president-elect last month, before the majority of US media outlets had even announced the election.
"President @realDonaldTrump, congratulations. Last month, Macron posted on X that he was "ready to work together as we did for four years." "With both your and my convictions. with ambition and deference. for greater prosperity and peace.
According to Macron's office, he and Trump had a phone conversation later that evening.
In an attempt to win over the returning president and his supporters, the French president has launched a new campaign. Macron intends to host an artificial intelligence summit in Paris in early February, inviting Trump and Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, whom the president-elect has selected for a position in his administration.
There will be other American representatives in Paris on Saturday besides Trump. As she concludes her final formal state visit overseas, First Lady Jill Biden is also expected to attend the ceremony. However, she is not scheduled to attend any high-profile meetings or visit the Élysée palace.
The trip on Saturday comes one week after Trump declared that he had chosen real estate developer Charles Kushner, the father of son-in-law Jared Kushner, to be the next US ambassador to France. After entering a guilty plea in 2004 to 16 charges of tax evasion, one count of retaliating against a federal witness, and another count of lying to the Federal Election Commission, Charles Kushner was pardoned by Trump in 2020.
Since the election, Macron won't be the first G7 leader to meet with Trump face-to-face. On November 29, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a plane to Florida and joined him for dinner at Mar-a-Lago.
According to two people who were informed on the topic, Trump quipped over dinner that Canada would avoid any pain by becoming the 51st US state during a discussion about his proposed tariffs.
Sitting at the same dinner, Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters in Ottawa, "The president was teasing us." "It was obviously not a serious remark on that matter."
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