President Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, to the White House this week for his administration’s first state visit.
Here’s what they did:
French President Emmanuel Macron has had a busy, multi-day visit with President Trump. But he’s not the only European leader who will be at the White House this week.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the White House on Friday.
Her visit will be very different from Macron’s.
Merkel’s White House trip will have will have none of of the elaborate trimmings associated with a state visit. Macron’s state visit this week included a formal arrival ceremony with 500 members of the military and a state dinner with entertainment from the Washington National Opera from the Kennedy Center.
Once the favored European leader for US presidents, including Obama and President George W. Bush, Merkel got off to a frosty start with Trump and struggled to recover. The two leaders went more than five months without speaking earlier this year.
In anticipation of his visit to Washington, Macron held talks with Merkel.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in front of Congress, said that one day, the US will come back to the Paris agreement, which Trump pulled out of last year.
So what’s in the deal?
The Paris agreement came together in 2015. Representatives from close to 200 countries gathered in the French capital and pledged to take decisive action on climate change.
Under the accord, countries that signed on agreed reduce their carbon output and halt global warming below two degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
The deal was heralded as “the end of the era of fossil fuels” and “a victory for all of the planet” over the days that followed.
Why Trump backed out
When he announced the US would leave the agreement, Trump cast it as a humiliating defeat for American workers that unfairly advantaged foreign countries.
“At what point does America get demeaned? At what point do they start laughing at us as a country?” Trump asked in June.
Trump, who has governed with an “American First” policy, said that in backing out of the agreement, he was carrying out the will of the people who voted for him.
“I was elected by the citizens of Pittsburgh,” Trump said, “not Paris.”
Currently, the United States and Syria are the only countries in the world not in the agreement. (Although Syria said last year that it would join onto the accord.)
French President Emmanuel Macron gave a speech before Congress this morning in which he broke with Trump on a number of key issues, including the environment and the Iran deal (more on that in the post just below this one).
Before Macron started speaking, Trump said he was looking forward to watching the address:
President Trump has not tweeted since the conclusion of Macron’s speech.
President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron had a friendly state visit this week, exchanging compliments and even shows of affection in front of reporters.
But Macron’s address before Congress made clear that there are certain things he and Trump don’t see eye-to-eye on:
French President Emmanuel Macron said “we must fight against fake news” — but not the kind President Trump talks about.
“We must fight against the ever-growing virus of fake news,” he said.
Tackling “fake news” — hoaxes, rumors and other false claims spread on social media — has been a top issue for Macron this year. In January, he announced France will enact legislation in 2018 to combat the spread of “fake news.” The legislation will be used especially during election periods, Macron said.
This is not how President Trump uses the term “fake news.”
After the 2016 election, President Trump almost single-handedly turned the definition of “fake news” on its head. Among his supporters, “fake news” is now a catch-all criticism for any news that Trump doesn’t like.
In January, a CNN analysis found that more than once a day, on average, Trump has publicly assailed “fake news,” “fake polls,” “fake media,” and “fake stories.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has made one thing clear this week: He and President Trump do not see eye to eye when it comes to the current Iran deal.
Trump railed against the Iran nuclear deal Tuesday, calling the agreement negotiated by the Obama administration “insane” and “ridiculous” for failing to contain Tehran.
However, France is staying in the deal – “because we signed it,” Macron said.
“We should not abandon it if we don’t have something more substantial instead. That is my position,” Macron told Congress moments ago.
“Your President and your country … will have to take its own responsibilities regarding this issue,” he added.
Both leaders have said they are willing to negotiate on the Iran deal, something Macron made clear in his speech.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in front of Congress, stressed the importance of protecting the environment, insisting that one day, the US will come back to the Paris agreement.
“I believe in building a planet for our children that is still inhabitable in 25 years,” he said. “Some people think that securing industries and current jobs is more important than climate change … I hear this concern, but we must find a smooth transition.”
“Let us face it. There is no planet B,” he added.
He later added that he was “sure” that the US would one day rejoin the Paris climate agreement.
This is a major break from President Trump, who pulled the United States out of the historic Paris climate agreement.
Currently, the United States and Syria are the only countries in the world not in the agreement.
French President Emmanuel Macron is addressing a joint session of Congress right now. He began his speech by talking about France’s shared history with the US.
He stressed the importance of the relationship between the United States and France, a relationship forged over the last 100 years.
“We have shared the history of civil rights,” Macron said. “Thousands of examples come to mind. One would think of the exchanges between our cultures across the centuries.”
Emmanuel Macron just got to the House floor, where he will address Congress in just moments.
He shook lawmakers’ hands as he entered. Behind him were Rep. Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
President Trump spent most of yesterday with Emmanuel Macron, attending meetings, a press conference and a state dinner with the French President.
The two leaders don’t have any scheduled face-time today, but President Trump said he’s looking forward to Macron’s address to Congress this morning:
Macron — who has been dubbed by some observers as a “Trump whisperer” — has been able to develop one of the closest relationships Trump maintains with a world leader.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to address Congress on Wednesday, following his meetings with President Donald Trump at the White House.
The address coincides with the 58th anniversary of then-French President Charles de Gaulle’s address to a joint session of Congress.
Macron’s speech to Congress comes after he spent two days with Trump tackling a slew of pressing policy issues including…
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, tonight at the White House for his administration’s first official state dinner.
Earlier today, the Trump welcomed the Macrons in a traditional state arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.
The two leaders later held a joint news conference, where they took questions from reporters. Trump criticized the Iran deal during the news conference, as Macron, who is trying to salvage the deal, looked on.
Macron will spend less time with Trump tomorrow.
President Trump, while giving a toast tonight, thanked first lady Melania Trump for organizing and arranging his administration’s first state dinner.
Trump, speaking to his guests, welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron, his wife, Brigitte, and the French delegation to the official state dinner.
“May our friendship grow even deeper, may our kinship grow even stronger, and may our sacred liberty never die,” Trump said, as he toasted Macron.
Watch his speech:
Politicians and special guests of honor made their way to the White House this evening for the Trump administration’s first state dinner, with France.
Familiar faces from Trump’s Cabinet were also in attendance. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen donned gowns and tuxedos.
But these cabinet secretaries were absent from tonight’s festivities:
The White House did not comment on whether they had been invited to the intimate event.
First lady Melania Trump is wearing a Chanel Haute Couture gown, hand-painted with silver and embroidered with crystals and sequins, to tonight’s state dinner.
The first lady paid “homage to the country that they are hosting,” CNN’s Kate Bennett reported.
Dresses for state level events are allowed to be gifted by the designer to be worn at the occasion and then are the property of the National Archives.
Earlier today, the first lady’s attire made headlines when she wore a white, wide-brimmed hat and a white skirt suit to greet the Macrons.
Her white ensemble stood out on the gray Washington day as she and President Trump hosted a traditional state arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump just greeted French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, before heading into the White House for the Trump administration’s first state dinner.
The dinner will be in the White House State Dining Room, which can accommodate between 100 and 150 guests. The menu will feature American cuisine with nuances of French influence.
This is the 14th time the White House has hosted France for a state dinner, per the White House Historical Association.
Guests are arriving at the White House tonight for President Trump’s first state dinner, which will start soon.
Here are some of the guests:
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife Louise Linton
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and model Jerry Hall
Every last detail for tonight’s state dinner has been thoughtfully and carefully overseen by first lady Melania Trump, who, unlike some of her predecessors, did not hire an event planner or other outside consultants for the event.
Relying solely on her own research and aesthetic instincts, Trump crafted a cream and gold color scheme, with details spanning the patterns on the chair cushions to the honey with dessert made by bees in the White House hive.
Each of her selections for the Macrons’ visit was chosen with meaning behind it, down to the flowers (white sweet peas and 1,200 branches of cherry blossoms), china and menu.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is at President Trump’s first state dinner tonight.
He was joined by Apple Vice President Lisa Jackson, who served the Obama administration as Environmental Protection Agency chief.
Trump often mentions about the tech giant in his speeches when he’s talking about taxes.
In January, Trump noted how Apple announced that it would pay $38 billion in taxes on cash it has been keeping overseas and pledged to create 20,000 jobs and invest $30 billion in US facilities over the next five years.
Trump told the audience that he called Cook to thank him.
