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| US President-Elect Donald Trump, with Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. |
The Boss is back in the international stage.
In France for the Grand Reopening of the Notre Dame of Paris, President-Elect Donald J. Trump is flexing his geopolitical muscles as he positions himself as the center piece in the negotiation of peace in the Ukraine war.
Even before the celebration with political leaders from all over the world, Trump found time to have a brief but consequential trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
Reuters reported:
“Macron convened the trilateral meeting as he hosts leaders for
the evening event to celebrate the cathedral’s restoration five years
after it was ravaged by fire.”
All business! pic.twitter.com/ezJNVLd9Rb
— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) December 7, 2024
In a triumphant return to the world stage even before taking office next month, Trump greeted Zelensky with his usual firm handshake and a pat on the back.
“Trump was on his first trip overseas since winning the
presidential election a month ago and the visit to Paris was seen as
offering Macron an early opportunity to play the role of mediator
between Europe and the incoming president, a role the French leader has
relished in the past.”
Who’s your Daddy! pic.twitter.com/a5k3rzwHz1
— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) December 7, 2024
With all the trouble at home, Macron tries to focus on the NATO alliance and Ukraine’s fight.
Trump’s position has always been that European nations need to pay for their common defense, and defends a quick negotiated settlement to end the Ukraine war.
“Arriving at the Elysee Palace, Trump told Macron they had
enjoyed ‘really great success’ working together during his first term in
office. ‘And it certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy
right now. And we’ll be talking about that’, Trump added.”
The Boss! pic.twitter.com/8ExMixVWea
— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) December 7, 2024
The meeting between the three men only lasted about 20 minutes.
Trump was in his first term when Notre-Dame was ravaged by fire in 2019, and wrote about how shocking that was.
“’Symbolically, both Mr. Trump’s presidency and Notre-Dame have
been restored in approximately the same time period. His visit to Paris
is also the opening salvo of his return to the world stage, further
diminishing the final days of the Biden administration’, [Heather
Conley, senior adviser at Marshall Fund] said.”
Haters are gonna say this is AI 😂 pic.twitter.com/REkEfrmHjm
— Politi_Rican 🇵🇷 𝕏 🇺🇸 (@TheRicanMemes) December 7, 2024
Republican strategist Doug Heye:
“’It’s not images of him at Mar-a-Lago’, Heye said, referring to the Florida home where Trump has spent the bulk of his time since the election. ‘This is the biggest event of the world and he’ll be peer-to-peer with other leaders’.”