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Macron, Trump Put on Show of Unity as They Commemorate D-Day

Macron, Trump Put on Show of Unity as They Commemorate D-Day

(Bloomberg) -- The graves of 9,000 American soldiers who died liberating France during World War II was never going to be a backdrop for sniping between French and American presidents.

President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump have had a complicated relationship over the past two years, with sometimes acrimonious exchanges on subjects ranging from climate to Iran to European defense spending.

And their speeches Thursday at a D-Day commemoration ceremony at Omaha Beach, Normandy, reflected their disagreements. Trump’s was laced with references to American exceptionalism and nationalism. Macron’s highlighted the notion that the U.S. is strongest when allied and helping others defend democracy, and he lauded international organizations that Trump has scorned.

But Macron’s nudges were framed in terms of his admiration and gratitude for what American soldiers did 75 years ago, and the two leaders seemed determined to enjoy their moment together, or at least put on a good show. They pledged to work together and seemed genuinely moved by their interactions with veterans.

‘Promise of Normandy’

“America is never as great as when it fights for the liberty of others and when it holds these values to its heart,” Macron said at the cemetery. “We must show ourselves worthy of the heritage of peace and worthy of the promise of Normandy. France will carry this promise of Normandy forever, and it is at the heart of the destiny of the true America.”

Later, before a one-on-one meeting in a government building in nearby Caen, Trump said relations between France and the U.S. are “outstanding.” After Macron had eulogized America’s efforts at D-Day, it was Trump’s turn to express admiration for French soldiers engaged alongside the U.S. on battlefields in West Africa and Syria.

They seemed to rediscover the spirit of their first meeting on July 14, 2017, when Trump so enjoyed his attendance at Bastille Day to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I. That was before Trump made his isolationist tendencies over trade and climate clear, and before Macron made a series of speeches that irked Trump.

‘Alliance of Free Nations’

Thursday, they even strove to show they aren’t that far apart on Iran, saying they both share the objective of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. They didn’t mention that Macron thinks staying in the 2015 nuclear accord is the best way to achieve those objectives, or that Trump withdrew from the accord because he thought it stood in the way.

Macron in his cemetery speech went out of his way to name nations beyond the main U.S., British and Canadian forces that stormed the Normandy beaches to retake Western Europe from Nazi occupation. He cited Dutch airmen, Polish tank soldiers, French commandos and local civilian resisters, as well as Norwegian, Australian, New Zealand and Greek sailors.

“We should never cease to keep alive the alliance of free nations,” Macron said. “It’s what the U.S. did in creating in NATO, what did the leaders of this continent did in creating the European Union,” two organizations that Trump has sought to undermine. But not today.

--With assistance from Helene Fouquet.

To contact the reporters on this story: Gregory Viscusi in Paris at gviscusi@bloomberg.net;Margaret Talev in Washington at mtalev@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Caroline Alexander, Richard Bravo

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