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President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday evening that he would travel to Paris on Saturday to attend the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Trump made the announcement via his Truth Social network. It will be his first trip abroad since winning the presidential election last month.
“President Emmanuel Macron has done a fantastic job ensuring that Notre Dame is restored to its full glory and more,” Trump said. ‘It will be a very special day for everyone!’
In the weeks since the election, Trump has begun to reestablish his position on the world stage, making phone calls with world leaders and hosting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago on Friday evening.
Trump had been officially invited by the French government to attend the reopening and his team had been in discussions with Macron’s team for days to plan the visit, CNN reported. Macron was the first world leader to congratulate Trump on his election victory, on November 6, when it became clear that the Republican Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, defeated. ‘Ready to work together as we have done for four years. With your beliefs and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity,” Macron wrote.
The ambassadorship to France was in turn one of the first that Trump announced. Over the weekend, Trump said Ivanka Trump’s father-in-law Charles Kushner (pictured) would serve as his ambassador to France. Charles is the father of Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner.
Earlier Monday, Trump announced that his ambassador to Britain would be Warren Stephens, the Arkansas billionaire (photo). Ambassadorships to Britain and France have generally gone to close friends or top donors of the US president.
On April 15, 2019, the roof of Notre Dame caught fire and nearly toppled the 800-year-old cathedral, one of the most famous sites in the French capital. Trump expressed his disgust at the fire at the time. ‘So terrible to see the huge fire at Notre Dame in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to extinguish it. Must act quickly!’ he tweeted.
Macron set a five-year deadline to restore the cathedral from the fire. The French president is expected to host about 50 heads of state to witness the reopening of Notre Dame. President Joe Biden is not expected to attend the ceremony in Paris. He arrived in Angola on Monday for the first and only trip to Africa and is expected back at the White House on Thursday.
Despite some major political differences, Macron and Trump had a “bromance” during the Republican’s term in office. Macron hosted the first of only two White House state dinners hosted by the Trump White House.
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