On his quick visit to Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame, President-elect Donald Trump equated the cathedral's revival and resilience to his return to the White House next month.
"Yes, absolutely," Trump told Paris Match in an exclusive Q&A as translated by Google Translate.
"That's resilience: once the shock has passed, you have to go all the way, do what's necessary, persevere. I know something about that, I managed to become president again."
While French President Emmanuel Macron has struggled with a divided government and the ouster of his prime minister, Trump was effusive in his praise of his French counterpart.
"I have always had good relations with your president, and I have always appreciated France," Trump said, calling France "a friend and an ally — absolutely." "It is a magnificent country, an elegant country, a country of art. I like being here."
Proof positive of that, Trump has named his own daughter's father-in-law, Charles Kushner, as ambassador to France.
"Yes, it is a special treatment," Trump said. "It does not happen every day to appoint a family member to a foreign country. He is Ivanka's father-in-law and a very good friend of mine, but also a very talented and elegant man. He is delighted with this mission. France was his first choice."
Trade will be Trump's first priority in the strategic partnership between France and the U.S., along with security for NATO allies and settling a peace between Ukraine and Russia.
"First of all, trade: We will do a lot of business with France," Trump said. "You are already selling us your wonderful wines and champagnes. We will also focus on defense. We will talk about Ukraine. I have already started – I just met [Ukraine] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, with whom I had a good discussion."
Settling the war in Ukraine with Russia will be a top priority for Trump and France.
"The priority is to resolve the problem of Ukraine with Russia," Trump said. "These two countries are suffering incredible human losses. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are killed.
"The Middle East is also important, but I think it is a less difficult situation to manage than Ukraine and Russia."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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