France rolls red carpet for Trump
White House hopes visit will distract from Russian scandal
France rolled out the red carpet to welcome Donald Trump on Thursday on a presidential visit laden with military pomp that the White House hopes will offer respite from a growing scandal back home.
The US president’s brief one- day trip to the French capital coincides with celebrations for Bastille Day, France’s national day which is marked on Friday, and the 100th anniversary of US involvement in World War I.
Accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, the 71- year- old stepped onto French soil for the first time as president hoping the visit would distract from weighty allegations that his family colluded with Russia to win the 2016 US election.
The scandal has put his son and top aides in legal jeopardy, cast a pall over his eff orts to remake the political agenda and may yet imperil his presidency.
During the brief visit, Trump – who sees himself as a transformative figure in US history – will be the guest of honor for Friday’s Bastille Day festivities that mark a pivotal point in the French Revolution.
This year’s event – featuring 63 planes, 29 helicopters, 241 horses and 3,720 soldiers – also coincides with the centenary of America entering World War I.
More than 50,000 Americans died in what then- president Woodrow Wilson described as the “war to end all wars,” a confl ict that forged the trans- Atlantic alliance in steel.
On the eve of the parade, Trump will visit Napoleon’s tomb, hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and share a Michelin- starred dinner atop the Eiff el Tower.
Talks between the two leaders are expected to focus on joint eff orts to combat the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, where American and French troops are in action side- by- side.
Macron, 39, is hoping to use the weight of history and French grandeur to charm the unpredictable Trump.
But it remains to be seen whether the all the frills and delicate cuisine of acclaimed chef Alain Ducasse will woo this steak- and- ketchup president.
Trump may struggle to stop his mind wondering back to explosive emails in which his oldest son Donald Trump Jr. appeared to embrace the off er of dirt on Hillary Clinton from Russian interlocutors.
Shortly before leaving Washington, he had to parry criticisms that his administration was in disarray and his legislative agenda on the rocks.
“The W. H. is functioning perfectly, focused on HealthCare, Tax Cuts/ Reform & many other things. I have very little time for watching T. V.,” he tweeted
In London, Berlin, Brussels and Paris, European leaders are wondering how best to handle the US president, whose nationalist “America First” agenda has upended transatlantic relations.