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Donald Trump has wasted no time taking a poke at his French host as he arrived in Paris for events marking the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War, tweeting as he landed that President Emmanuel Macron had made an “insulting” proposal to build up Europe's military to counter the US, China and Russia.
It was a clear sign that the “America First” president was ready to chart his own course yet again as world leaders gathered to remember the coalition that brought an end to the first global war. Trump's visit comes on the heels of midterm elections in which Americans delivered a split referendum on his presidency, keeping the Senate in his party's control but ceding the House to opposition Democrats.
He planned to meet with Macron on Saturday for talks on topics expected to include European security, Syria and Iran. As he arrived, Mr Trump tweeted that Mr Macron “has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!”
Mr Trump's brief visit to Europe comes amid uncertainty about the US relationship with the continent. Mr Trump has railed against trade deals with the European Union and has criticised some EU nations, including France, for not spending enough to defense to sustain Nato, the decades-old Western alliance formed as a bulwark to Moscow's aggression.
Mr Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, said in Paris that the US was concerned about stability in Europe and that Mr Trump was not shirking from global engagement. “I think the enduring lesson (of World War I) for the United States is that when you become a global power ... you have global interests to protect,” Mr Bolton said. “Great world leaders,” he said, are “driven by national interests.”
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For Sunday's armistice anniversary, Mr Trump was to join world leaders at a ceremony in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe.
“It should be a very beautiful period of time, the 100th anniversary of the ending of World War I. We have many countries — the leadership from many countries will be there, especially since they heard the United States will be there. And we look forward to that,” Mr Trump said
Mr Trump originally wanted to celebrate Veterans Day on Sunday with a grand military parade in Washington, as he was inspired by the tanks and flyovers he saw during France's Bastille Day celebration when he visited Paris in July of last year. Mr Trump ordered the Pentagon to come up with plans for his own version, but they were eventually scrapped over concerns about costs and the damage tanks weighing many tons would do to the streets in Washington.
To follow how the day unfolded see our live coverage below
Donald Trump originally wanted to celebrate the centenary on Sunday with a grand military parade in Washington DC, inspired by the tanks and flyovers he saw during France's Bastille Day celebration when he visited Paris in July of last year.
Mr Trump ordered the Pentagon to come up with plans for his own version, but they were eventually scrapped over concerns about costs and the damage tanks weighing many tons would do to the streets in Washington.
It seems that French citizens have warmed to Donald Trump over the last year, although not by a huge amount.
Mr Trump’s disapproval rating is 65 per cent among the French public according to an Odoxa poll for Le Figaro newspaper, down from the 81 per cent who said they disliked him a year ago, . The pollsters said the improved opinion of Mr Trump is linked to a perception he’s been good for the U.S. economy and job creation.
Still, only 10 per cent said they had a positive image of him, with 25 percent saying they didn’t have an opinion. Last year, 9 per cent said they had a positive image and 9 per cent had no opinion.
One reporter that Mr Trump may not want to see is Jim Acosta, who has been a source of anger for Mr Trump in recent days, after a clash between the pair at a press conference earlier this week.
Mr Trump was again lashing out at reporters before he departed for Paris.
Standing on the White House lawn for a press gaggle, the president called CNN reporter Abby Phillip's "stupid".
She had asked if the president wanted newly-appointed Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to "reign in" special counsel Robert Mueller, who is still investigating possible collusion between Mr Trump's 2016 campaign team and Russian officials.
The last time Mr Trump and First Lady Melania Trump went to France to visit French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron, the US leader was roundly criticised for what many thought was a "creepy" comment on Ms Macron's physical appearance.
Mr Trump just tweeted, apparently from Air Force One. He said Mr Macron and Europe should "pay its fair share of Nato" or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, before suggesting building its own military.
Each country in Nato allocates a percentage of their GDP to the alliance but to equate not allocating a higher percentage, as he has demanded in previous meetings, is not the same as not paying a "fair share".
The percentage contribution is, in the case of the US, relative to the size of the country.
For instance, on a per capita basis, the US only paid approximately $1.68 per person in Nato contributions within the 2017 budget.
Germany, though they have allocated a smaller percentage of their GDP than Mr Trump would like, actually paid the equivalent of $4.39 per person.
The US has 300 million people to defend, while Germany has around 83 million.
Experts have said part of the reason Europe may feel the need to shore up a unified military is because of Mr Trump's ever-closer ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the US leader's unwillingness to reaffirm Article 5 of the Nato charter, customary for all members to do.
Article 5, which states an attack on one is an attack on all, has only been invoked once: after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Also on his last trip to Paris, Mr Trump teased the world by saying "something" could happen with the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Mr Trump had, in grand fashion, announced the beginning of the US withdrawal from the global agreement signed by nearly 200 countries in an attempt to curb global greenhouse gas emissions and contain global warming to 2 C.
The president has not discussed the agreement on climate change in several months but it continues to be a priority for Mr Macron's government.
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