Trump puts on Ritz for Macron

Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron were to get down to business today on issues like the Iran nuclear accord and trade.

Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux land at Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, with Donald and Melania Trump yesterday. Picture: AFP

After a friendly dinner at a landmark, US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron were to get down to business today on divisive issues such as the Iran nuclear accord and international trade.

They were to meet face to face for half an hour, and then again for an hour in a broader meeting with more aides — the climax of Mr Macron’s three-day state visit to Washington. It is the first state visit of Mr Trump’s presidency.

Before getting the red-carpet treatment at the White House yesterday — payback for wooing Mr Trump with military parades and an Eiffel Tower dinner in Paris last July — Mr Macron took an impromptu stroll to the Lincoln Memorial with his wife Brigitte.

Marine One approaches Mount Vernon yesterday. Picture: AFP

Hailing the “very important” visit, Mr Macron then rolled into the West Wing from Lafayette Square — named after the French general who fought in America’s War of Independence — beneath dozens of French flags and before a full US military colour guard.

Waiting at the door, the US President smiled and held out his hand for Mr Macron to shake, and the French leader kissed him on both cheeks. Later, the first couples had dinner at Mount Vernon, the mansion that was the home of George Washington.

They talked about the state of the US economy, Mr Trump’s approval rating, the mid-term elections in November in the US, internet regulation and the fight against Islamist terror.

Mr Trump is deeply unpopular in France and Mr Macron, like other world leaders — from Japan’s Shinzo Abe to Britain’s Theresa May — is under growing pressure to show voters the benefits of his courtship with the 71-year-old Republican.

Looming over it all are two May deadlines that have the potential to wreck already fragile trans- ­Atlantic relations. Biting trade sanctions on European steel and aluminium will enter into force on May 1 unless Mr Trump agrees to sign a waiver. If he refuses, there are fears of a full-fledged trade war.

The State Dining Room is set for the state dinner in honour of French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House last night. Picture: AFP

Also, France and other European nations are battling to save a complex nuclear deal with Iran, which Mr Trump will scuttle if he refuses to waive sanctions against Tehran by a May 12 deadline. Iran says it is ready to relaunch its nuclear program — which the West suspects is designed to produce a bomb — if Mr Trump kills the deal.

European officials say Mr Trump’s demand to reopen the deal are impossible, and are scrambling to address his concerns on Tehran’s missile testing, inspections and the regime’s behaviour in the region. There is growing frustration in European capitals that Mr Trump’s stubbornness over the Obama-era agreement is diverting attention away from other pressing issues.

Mr Macron will also be keen to temper Mr Trump’s instinct to pull the US military out of Syria, amid co-operation in fighting Islamic State and co-ordinated strikes on chemical-weapons installations operated by Damascus.

In public, both countries are keen to emphasise their historic relationship — recalling that France was the first ally of American revolutionaries fighting for independence. Mr Macron brought with him an oak sapling that he and Mr Trump planted at the White House yesterday as a symbol of friendship. It comes from near the site of the Battle of Belleau Woods in northern France, where 2000 US marines perished at the end of World War I.

The pair, clearly relaxed, also briefly visited the Oval Office before heading to Mount Vernon.

On a personal level, despite sharp differences in political background, age and lifestyle, the presidents seem to have struck up a bond as fellow outsiders who outwitted the establishment to gain power. When asked about their first encounter — a six-second handshake during a NATO summit in May — Mr Macron, 40, acknowledged it was a “very direct, lucid moment” that had set the tone between them. “And a very friendly moment. It was to say now we will work together.”

Tomorrow, the centrist leader will demonstrate his English-language skills — a rarity for a French president — in an address to a joint session of congress.

AFP