By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BUDAPEST/PARIS (Worthy News) – U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral five years after a fire damaged the Paris landmark.
The opening, in the Christmas-decorated French capital, marked a bright spot in a world that Trump said “is going a little crazy right now.”
Reporters noted that a red carpet was rolled out for Trump as Macron bestowed the kind of diplomatic welcome that France usually offers only for sitting American presidents, complete with blaring trumpets and members of the Republican Guard in full uniform.
Although Trump doesn’t take office until January 20, 2025, the fanfare was a sign that Macron and other European leaders are already trying to win his favor as the U.S. representative on the world stage.
He attended a hastily arranged trilateral meeting proposed by Macron at the Élysée Palace shortly before the Notre Dame ceremony as Ukraine faces a blood-stained Christmas with Russian troops gaining more territory.
Trump has pledged to end the war within 24 hours of becoming president, though he has remained vague on how that could be achieved.
President Zelenskyy and European leaders have been concerned that Trump could withdraw U.S. military aid to Ukraine at a crucial juncture in Kyiv’s battle to repel Russia.
WORKING ON PEACE
Yet Zelenskyy later described the discussion in Paris as “good and productive,” noting that the three leaders agreed to continue working toward peace.
Trump said it was a “very great honor” to be there while hinting at the challenges ahead.
“It certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now. And we’ll be talking about that,” Trump said.
At the official residence of the French president, Macron went out of his way to project an image of close ties, offering handshakes and plenty of back-patting with Trump for the cameras before Zelenskyy joined.
In a video posted later on social media platform X, Macron could be heard asking Trump: “You remember?” as both men entered a reception room. “I remember,” Trump answered.
Trump spent about 90 minutes inside, meeting first with Macron before Zelenskyy joined them for about 35 minutes.
The three leaders reportedly spoke English, but a translator was in the room.
CONTINGENT OF ADVISERS
Accompanying Trump to Paris was a small contingent of advisers, including incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles and Steve Witkoff, a longtime friend and real estate investor whom Trump has tapped as his special envoy to the Middle East.
Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, who will serve as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, was also accompanying Trump.
As Syria’s regime change was underway, Macron said the Middle East would also feature in the talks ahead of Notre Dame’s reopening.
When he accepted the invitation to travel to Paris, Trump said Macron 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!” Trump was president in 2019 when a fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old Catholic cathedral.
The devastation prevented Notre Dame from holding a Christmas Mass in 2019 for the first time since 1803.
In 2020, investigators believed the fire had been “started by either a cigarette or a short circuit in the electrical system.”
U.S. President Joe Biden declined an invitation to attend the Notre Dame ceremony five years after the devastating fire, with the White House citing a scheduling conflict. First lady Jill Biden was the official U.S. representative in his place.
The First Lady was later seen in a friendly conversation with Trump sitting nearby in the Notre Dame in Paris, the “City of Love” where past misgivings are fastly forgotten.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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