Gathered leaders rebuke Trump-style ‘nationalism’
PARIS – Bells tolled across France and Europe on Sunday, as President Donald Trump and other global leaders gathered to mourn the dead of World War I and heed the harsh lessons designed to prevent future conflicts – perhaps including Trump-style nationalism.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has criticized Trump’s “America First” foreign policy, appeared to be referencing the U.S. president as he used his speech to decry excessive “nationalism” as the root of the First World War and succeeding conflicts.
“Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism,” Macron told a gathering of world leaders that ranged from Russian President Vladimir Putin to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as Trump. “Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism by saying, ‘our interest first, who cares about the others?’ ”
Hosting an event to mark the centennial of the armistice that ended World War I, Macron told fellow leaders they have a “huge responsibility” to defeat modern forces that threaten a “legacy of peace” from the two world wars of the past century.
“I know there are old demons coming back to the surface,” the French president said. “They are ready to wreak chaos and death.”
Macron did not refer specifically to Trump, who occasionally frowned during the speech.
Trump did not respond to Macron publicly. During a speech later Sunday at a World War I-era cemetery, Trump praised the French leader for hosting the event he called “very beautiful” and “well done.”
In defending “America First,” Trump has often said the U.S. needs to address its own needs. During a meeting with Macron on Saturday, Trump said other countries need to share the burdens of mutual defense and free trade: “We want to help Europe, but it has to be fair.”
Before the ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, the bells at Notre Dame and other cathedrals in Paris and across the continent rang at the exact time the armistice took effect: the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 100 years ago.
Other countries across the world held similar World War I commemorations, from Australia and New Zealand to England and India. But with Trump and more than 60 other world leaders in attendance, the Paris event took place amid heavy security.