President-elect Trump dominated French President Emmanuel Macron during a tense photo-op handshake as the leaders met in Paris ahead of the Notre Dame cathedral’s reopening Saturday — with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joining the pair afterward in a trilateral sit-down.
Trump and Macron met in front of the Elysee Palace Saturday, where the pair smiled for photos between a pair of guards as the president-elect gripped the French leader’s hand.
The move, reminiscent of a white-knuckle, prolonged grip the pair had during Trump’s first term in office, forced Macron to lean into Trump, before the president-elect let go and headed inside the building.
“President Trump just made Macron his b—h with one handshake,” one critic assessed on X.
Trump told reporters he and Macron would be discussing a world that’s gone “a little crazy” during their talks.
Despite the pair’s previous tensions during Trump’s first term, Macron attempted to demonstrate close ties with his American counterpart by posing for a slew of snaps and engaging in much back-patting.
The French president rolled out a grand red carpet in a manner that is usually reserved for sitting US presidents, France 24 reported.
The pair were then joined by Zelesnky, who appeared visibly uncomfortable in a photo op inside the Elysee next to a hardened Macron and Trump.
A second photo showed Trump and Zelesnky seated, the former expressionless as Macron placed his hand on the arm of the Ukrainian leader. The French president appeared to give Zelensky a reassuring look.
Trump touched down in Paris Orly Airport Saturday at the invitation of Macron. The cathedral was damaged by a devastating fire in 2019. The exact cause of the blaze has never been fully determined.
In advance of the ceremony Trump praised the French leader, proclaiming that he had done “a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!”
Prince William is also scheduled to meet with First Lady Jill Biden and is expected to focus on the importance of the US-UK relationship, a spokesman for Kensington Palace told British media.
The trilateral meeting is the first face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Trump since the latter’s presidential election win in November.
Trump had vowed to bring an end to the nearly three-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by forcing a peace agreement, claiming on the campaign trail that he could end the conflict in one day owing to Kyiv’s reliance on US weaponry.
Macron, Zelensky and other European leaders, however, are hoping to convince the president-elect not to abandon support for Ukraine in the ongoing fight and push for an end to the war that ultimately favors Kyiv once he takes over the White House in January.
Earlier this week a Ukrainian delegation in Washington met with Rep. Mike Waltz the incoming national security advisor and Keith Kellogg, who Trump has named special envoy to Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine and Russia have been embroiled in a years-long conflict, which Trump promised on the campaign trail he would bring to a speedy conclusion.
Trump had famously strained relationships with European leaders during his first term in office, frequently clashing with them over issues like climate change and their contributions to NATO financing.
With Post Wires