“The tree planted by Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, at the White House as a symbol of their countries’ ties has died,” the Guardian reports.
“The oak was given as a gift to the US president during Macron’s visit in 2018.”
“The tree planted by Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, at the White House as a symbol of their countries’ ties has died,” the Guardian reports.
“The oak was given as a gift to the US president during Macron’s visit in 2018.”
Vanity Fair: “Trump remained in a dark mood during his weekend trip to France to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I… On Saturday morning, Trump skipped attending a rain-soaked ceremony at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery to honor the Battle of Belleau Wood. When his absence became a scandal, the White House said the decision had been made because Marine One reportedly could not fly in the rain, and Secret Service did not want Trump traveling by motorcade. One Republican briefed on the internal discussions said the real reason Trump did not want to go was because there would be no tent to stand under.”
Said the source: “He was worried his hair was going to get messed up in the rain. John Bolton and everyone was telling him this was a big mistake.”
A French government spokesman said that President Trump, who attacked his French counterpart in a series of tweets on Tuesday, should have shown “common decency” instead since the country was mourning the anniversary of deadly attacks in Paris, Reuters reports.
Said spokesman Benjamin Griveaux: “Yesterday was November 13, we were marking the murder of 130 of our people. So I’ll reply in English: ‘common decency’ would have been appropriate.”
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Washington Post: “During his 43-hour stay in Paris, Trump brooded over the Florida recounts and sulked over key races being called for Democrats in the midterm elections that he had claimed as a ‘big victory.’ He erupted at his staff over media coverage of his decision to skip a ceremony honoring the military sacrifice of World War I.”
“The president also was angry and resentful over French President Emmanuel Macron’s public rebuke of rising nationalism, which Trump considered a personal attack. And that was after his difficult meeting with Macron, where officials said little progress was made as Trump again brought up his frustrations over trade and Iran.”
“Meanwhile, Trump was plotting a shake-up in his administration.“
President Trump mocked French President Emmanuel Macron’s “approval rating and France’s unemployment rate, and criticized the tariffs it charges for French wine,” the Daily Beast reports.
“But in the comment most likely to upset the French and all veterans, he ridiculed its losses in the World Wars.”
Said Trump: “Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two – How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said “that he would put forward new proposals for the European Union to boost its security, saying the bloc must stop depending on American might,” AFP reports.
Said Macron: “Europe can no longer rely on the United States for its security. It is up to us to guarantee European security.”
France pledged to stand by the G7 summit statement disowned by President Trump and took a swipe at him by declaring that international cooperation could not depend on “fits of anger” or “little words,” Politico reports.
Said the statement: “We spent two days to obtain a text and commitments. We will stand by them and anyone who would depart from them, once their back was turned, shows their incoherence and inconsistency.”
“France has joined Germany in warning President Trump that it won’t sign a joint statement of the Group of 7 at the summit in Quebec this week without major concessions from the U.S.,” Bloomberg reports.
“President Emmanuel Macron has signaled that progress on tariffs, Iran nuclear agreement and Paris climate accord must be made before he’ll be willing to sign a joint statement… Macron has concluded that the other members of the G7 — the U.K., Germany, Japan, France, Italy and Canada — must stand up to the U.S. over Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico as well as other issues.”
Ian Bremmer tells Axios: “It will be the most dysfunctional g7 meeting — by a long margin — since its first in 1975. the Europeans, Japanese, and Canadians all feel like they’ve been wrong footed by the American president on trade.”
A call about trade and migration between President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron soured last week after Macron candidly criticized Trump’s policies, CNN reports.
Said one source: “Just bad. It was terrible. Macron thought he would be able to speak his mind, based on the relationship. But Trump can’t handle being criticized like that.”
President Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron that he plans to announce the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump’s decision unravels the signature foreign policy achievement of his predecessor, Barack Obama, isolating the United States among its allies and leaving it at even greater odds with its adversaries in dealing with the Iranians.”
Bret Baier: “There is probably a 50/50 chance now that Donald Trump will decide to save at least part of the Iran deal just to tweet that the New York Times was dead wrong with its reporting.”
“A mystery is brewing at the White House about what happened to the oak tree President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron planted there last week,” the AP reports.
“The sapling was a gift from Macron on the occasion of his state visit. News photographers snapped away Monday when Trump and Macron shoveled dirt onto the tree during a ceremonial planting on the South Lawn. By the end of the week, the tree was gone from the lawn. A pale patch of grass was left in its place.”
However, France’s ambassador to the U.S. explains in a tweet: “It is in quarantine which is mandatory for any living organism imported to the US. It will be replanted afterwards.”
French president Emmanuel Macron was clearly very moved to meet and embrace Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) on the streets of Washington, D.C. yesterday.
French President Emmanuel Macron believes President Trump will pull out of the Iran nuclear deal as part of “a strategy of increasing tension,” BuzzFeed News reports.
Said Macron: “My view — I don’t know what your president will decide — is that he will get rid of this deal on his own, for domestic reasons.”
He added: “It can work in the short term but it’s very insane in the medium to long term.”
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was taken into custody in connection with allegations that he received millions of euros in illegal campaign financing from the regime of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, the AP reports.
“President Trump is expected to invite French President Emmanuel Macron to Washington for an official state visit later this year, the first of his presidency,” CNN reports.
“While a date for the visit has not yet been officially set and the White House has not made an announcement, sources say that could come as soon as this week, while Trump attends the World Economic Forum in Davos.”
A new Le Figaro poll in France finds that just 36% of French citizens approve of President Emmanuel Macron after 100 days in office.
“France is America’s first and oldest ally. A lot of people don’t know that.”
— President Trump, quoted by the Boston Globe.
“President Donald Trump’s saga of awkward handshakes continues,” CNN reports.
“On Friday, right before he left France, Trump said goodbye to France’s President Emmanuel Macron, with the two grabbing and holding hands for a long, long handshake. The entire handshake lasted about 25 seconds.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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