Trump, Macron agree on defence after 'insulting' European army spat

By Steve Holland and Luke Baker

 

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron as they meet at Elysee presidential palace, as part of the commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day, 100 years after the end of the First World War, in Paris, France, November 10, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

 

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron agreed on Saturday on the need for more European defence spending, papering over an earlier Trump tweet that had described Macron's call for a European army as "very insulting".

 

Meeting for talks at the Elysee a day before commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, Macron welcomed Trump under rainy Parisian skies with a firm handshake. But there appeared to be less immediate warmth in the greeting between the two than in the past.

 

Seated on gilded chairs in the ornate presidential palace, Macron placed his hand on Trump's knee and referred to him as "my friend", while Trump kept more distance, although he also talked up common ground on an issue that had caused friction.

 

"We want a strong Europe, it's very important to us, and whichever way we can do it the best and more efficient would be something we both want," said Trump.

 

"We want to help Europe but it has to be fair. Right now the burden sharing has been largely on the United States."

 

Macron echoed those sentiments, saying he wanted Europe to bear a greater share of the defence costs within NATO, a point he has made repeatedly since taking office, alongside his ambitions for Europe to have its own military capability.

 

"That's why I do believe my proposals for European defence are totally consistent with that," Macron said in English.

 

Fresh off U.S. congressional elections that saw his Republican Party's power eroded, Trump's visit is aimed at bolstering the U.S.-European alliance at a symbolic time, with the world marking the centenary of World War One's armistice.

 

But in a tweet prior to landing in Paris, Trump took a dim view of comments Macron made in a Europe 1 radio interview this week in which he appeared to cast the United States as a threat.

 

Discussing the growing dangers from cyber-hacking, meddling in electoral processes and the U.S. decision to withdraw from a missile treaty, Macron said Europe needed to protect itself against China, Russia "and even the United States".

Later in the interview he spoke about the need for a European army, saying:

 

"Faced by Russia, which is on our borders and which has shown that it can be threatening... we need to have a Europe that can better defend itself by itself, without depending solely on the United States."

 

Trump, who has pushed NATO allies to pay more for common defence and not rely on the United States, complained.

"Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly," Trump said on Twitter.

 

The Elysee said the misunderstanding, which it said had been caused by "exaggerated" U.S. press reports, was cleared up during more than an hour of talks it described as "substantial" and "very constructive".

 

"We had a great discussion and we are aligned," the Elysee quoted Trump as saying during the meeting, which covered trade, defence, Syria and the fallout from the murder in Istanbul last month of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

 

SOLEMN COMMEMORATION

 

After a lunch with Macron and their wives, Melania and Brigitte, Trump was scheduled to visit an American cemetery at Belleau Wood, east of Paris. But he cancelled the trip due to the weather. White House chief of staff John Kelly, a retired four-star general, and General Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will attend the ceremony instead, the White House said.

 

On Sunday, after a solemn commemoration at the Arc de Triomphe to honour the armistice centenary, Trump is scheduled to visit an American cemetery at Suresnes, on the western outskirts of the capital, where he will make formal remarks.

 

His trip comes just days after congressional elections delivered results that will complicate his next two years. While Republicans slightly expanded their majority in the U.S. Senate, they lost control of the U.S. House of Representatives to Democrats who may use their newfound power to launch investigations into Trump and stymie his agenda.

 

While the talks with Trump covered trade and foreign policy, it was not clear if they touched on European concerns about Trump's plans to withdraw the United States from the 1980s Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Agreement.

 

Macron told Europe 1 radio that the "main victim" of the U.S. withdrawal from the INF accord was Europe and its security.

 

The French president, who tried but failed earlier this year to talk Trump out of withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, has also voiced worries about the impact of sanctions on European companies doing business with Iran.

 

On Sunday, Trump may also chat briefly with Russian President Vladimir Putin when both are among the 70 world leaders set to gather at the Arc de Triomphe. Trump and Putin are expected to have formal talks later this month when both attend a G-20 summit in Buenos Aires.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-11

Maybe they want a European army that does not kill hundreds of their allies in friendly fire or blue on blue incidents.

I think it is vital for EU to have an army defending EU. EU cannot depend on US leaving all international agreements, no trust i US any more. Political situation in US getting worse day by day, the gap between the 1 pct and the 99 pct is growing 

Clearly the rain phobic U.S. president has other priorities on his mind at the moment other than his faded bromance with Macron.

 

Quote

 

Critics pile on after Trump cancels visit to U.S. military cemetery outside Paris, citing weather

PARIS — President Trump flew 3,800 miles to this French capital city for ceremonies to honor the military sacrifice in World War I, hoping to take part in the kind of powerful ode to the bravery of the armed forces that he was unable to hold in Washington.

But on his first full day here, it rained on his substitute parade weekend.

 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/trump-and-macron-meet-whats-left-to-talk-about/2018/11/10/680a014c-e1ec-11e8-ba30-a7ded04d8fac_story.html

I don't know what Trump is in a tizzy about. He imposed steel and aluminum tariffs from Canada and Europe amongst other allies under the grounds that steel and aluminum for these countries is a threat to US national security. If Trump thinks he can't rely on America's allies, how can they rely on America? 

4 minutes ago, Ulic said:

I don't know what Trump is in a tizzy about. He imposed steel and aluminum tariffs from Canada and Europe amongst other allies under the grounds that steel and aluminum for these countries is a threat to US national security. If Trump thinks he can't rely on America's allies, how can they rely on America? 

As long as he is in power, they can't. 

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Clearly the rain phobic U.S. president has other priorities on his mind at the moment other than his faded bromance with Macron.

 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/trump-and-macron-meet-whats-left-to-talk-about/2018/11/10/680a014c-e1ec-11e8-ba30-a7ded04d8fac_story.html

Par for the course for a draft dodging coward who insults war heroes. And now he has also insulted those who paid the ultimate price.

That’s right Donald gut our allies sit out the ceremony honoring our war dead you grow more pathetic by the day take heart he is a temp.wont be around much longer

Nationalism is the opposite of patriotism says Macron.

 

Welcome to the new leader of the free world.

 

There was an opening.

 

Vacuums get filled.

 

Merci Macron.

 

Merci France.

 

All lovers of freedom and democracy and opponents of rabid racist xenophobic demagoguery should kiss a Frenchman today. Especially Americans.

 

 

"In World War I remembrance, France’s Macron denounces nationalism as a ‘betrayal of patriotism’

 

 

PARIS — In the shadow of a grand war memorial here, French President Emmanuel Macron marked the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I by delivering a forceful rebuke against rising nationalism, calling it a “betrayal of patriotism” and warning against “old demons coming back to wreak chaos and death.”"

 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/to-mark-end-of-world-war-i-frances-macron-denounces-nationalism-as-a-betrayal-of-patriotism/2018/11/11/aab65aa4-e1ec-11e8-ba30-a7ded04d8fac_story.html

 

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe will never have an effective army. They are too beaurocratic to make swift decisions. Putin could send his tanks across the border and by the time the EU decides it's a problem and who will lead the defence Putin would be building vodka distilleries in London. Unlike America China and Russia decisions are not made by a single leader.

5 minutes ago, Sakeopete said:

Unlike America China and Russia decisions are not made by a single leader.

Thank god for that!

What I find perplexing is that if the weather was too rough for Trump , why was it ok for kelly and Dunsford. Is their hair spray more durable ?

16 hours ago, Athens said:

I think it is vital for EU to have an army defending EU. EU cannot depend on US leaving all international agreements, no trust i US any more. Political situation in US getting worse day by day, the gap between the 1 pct and the 99 pct is growing 

You do know France & the U.K. have nukes don't you? Besides that Vlad wouldn't mess with his best customers, unlike the Orange one. 

 

Great quote from a real war hero.

“President@realDonaldTrump a no-show because of raindrops? Those veterans the president didn’t bother to honor fought in the rain, in the mud, in the snow — & many died in trenches for the cause of freedom. Rain didn’t stop them & it shouldn’t have stopped an American president,” wrote former Secretary of State John Kerry, a veteran of the Vietnam War."

 

 

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/11/trump-paris-cemetery-rain-982947

 

Of course, none of this will change opinion within the Swift Boat bunch.

 

Edited November 11, 20187 yr by pegman