The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Trump and Macron to look beyond differences
Syria and counter-terrorism on the agenda
President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron set aside differences on climate change during their meeting in France, asserting that it should not prevent them from working together toward a post-war roadmap for Syria and to enhance Middle East security.
Mr Trump, standing alongside Mr Macron at a news conference, said the two nations have “occasional disagreements” but that would not disrupt a friendship that dates back to the American Revolution.
He remained non-committal about the United States eventually rejoining the global climate agreement that bears Paris’s name, telling Mr Macron, “if it happens that will be wonderful, and if it doesn’t that will be OK too”.
Mr Macron, playing host to Mr Trump ahead of the annual Bastille Day celebrations, acknowledged sharp differences on the Paris climate pact, but said the two leaders could find other areas of cooperation.
“Should that have an impact on the discussions we’re having on all other topics? No, absolutely not,” he said.
President Trump arrived in the French capital yesterday for a whirlwind, 36-hour visit to meet with Mr Macron and tackle potential solutions to the crisis in Syria and discuss broader counter-terrorism strategies.
The president landed in Paris amid questions about emails showing that his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, welcomed the prospect of receiving Russian government support in last year’s presidential campaign between his father and Hillary Clinton.
President Trump defended his namesake, saying that “most people would have taken that meeting”, a message that contradicted his incoming FBI director’s testimony that Donald Trump Jr should have instead alerted authorities.
The president called his son a “wonderful young man” and continued to downplay the issue, saying that “nothing happened” as a result of the meeting.
He says the Russian national involved was not a government lawyer.
However, the emails Donald Trump Jr received pitched her as one.
President Trump says the woman is a private lawyer who has “roamed the hallways” of the US Congress.
Earlier, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he is sending a letter to Donald Trump Jr to ask him to testify.
Senator Chuck Grassley said he would subpoena the president’s eldest son if necessary.