French prez digs it in D.C.
WASHINGTON — Tending to bonding before business, President Trump and France’s Emmanuel Macron started off the French president’s visit Monday with an anything-but-ordinary double date with their wives at George Washington’s house.
The presidents and their spouses hopped on a helicopter bound for Mount Vernon, Washington’s historic riverside home in Virginia, for a private dinner one night before the two leaders sit down for talks on a weighty agenda that includes security, trade and the Iran nuclear deal.
Trump, who attaches great importance to the optics of pageantry and ceremony, is honoring Macron with the first state visit of his administration.
“This is a great honor and I think a very important state visit given the moment of our current environment,” Macron said.
The Trumps and Macrons helped plant a tree on the White House grounds together before boarding Trump’s Marine One helicopter for a scenic tour of monuments built in the capital city designed by French-born Pierre L’Enfant as they flew south to Mount Vernon.
The young oak is an environmentally friendly gift to the White House from Macron, and one that also bears historical significance. It sprouted at a World War I site in France, the Battle of Belleau Wood, that became part of U.S. Marine Corps lore.