the hidden reasons behind the presence of Donald Trump – L’Express

Donald Trump is not yet president – ​​he will officially become one on January 20 – but on Saturday, he will be in Paris during the reopening ceremony of Notre Dame while Joe Biden, absent, will be represented by his wife Jill. One thing is certain: by taking the initiative of inviting the president-elect to Paris this weekend, Emmanuel Macron placed the protocol services in a delicate situation. Everyone will observe what solution has been implemented to limit as much as possible the interactions between the current first lady and the future president – ​​who cordially hate each other. “An official trip is always complicated, they say at the American embassy. So two trips are twice as complicated. But, we can be reassured, the preparations are going well.”

For Emmanuel Macron, things are simpler. He wants to restore his relationship with Donald Trump, which has had its ups and downs. After the presidential election on November 5, he was the first to rush to congratulate his American counterpart on his victory, beating the other European heads of state. To cultivate the historical link between France and the United States, all means are good. Especially since – Macron knows – France weighs less today than yesterday. Which is unfortunate in the current troubled international context. Fortunately, to exist, the French president can count on a strong ally: French heritage. Which Americans love. And which gives the hexagon a very useful “soft power”.

In 2018, newly elected, Emmanuel Macron was quick to invite Donald and Melania to Paris, pulling out all the stops: a dinner for four at the Eiffel Tower with Donald, Melania and Brigitte; and military parade on the Champs-Elysées which had greatly impressed Donald. The proof? He had decided to organize a military parade in Washington, based on the French model. A project that remained unanswered due to the reluctance of American generals. With the rebirth of Notre-Dame, the French president once again has a way to dazzle America just four months after the Olympics closed.

Always eager to be in the spotlight, Trump was not going to pass up such a great opportunity to eclipse Biden. “His presence at Notre-Dame, the most famous Catholic building with Saint Peter’s Basilica, symbolizes for the president-elect his return to the center of the game,” Bill O’Reilly, former star interviewer of Fox News who regularly speaks to the president. “His second term will be very different from the first,” he predicts. “He wants to put the United States back at the center of the game by positioning itself as the leader of the free world and, symbolically, this begins in Paris, among dozens of heads of state. State.”

But there is another dimension to his presence. As surprising as it may seem, Trump’s presence at Notre Dame has a religious character. “Few people know that Donald Trump enjoys the company of Catholics,” notes British journalist Edwart Pentin, expert on the Catholic Church, the Vatican and the Pope. In fact, there are many around him, from Vice President-elect JD Vance to future Secretary of State (Minister of Foreign Affairs) Marco Rubio, including Robert Kennedy Jr., Steve Bannon and Chris Ruddy. , the boss of the conservative media Newsmax. “Before the election, notes the journalist author of The Next Pope (the next Pope), Trump tweeted several messages on the Truth Social network aimed at Catholics.” One of them simply read “Glory to Mary” while another mentioned the martyrdom of the Father Jerzy Popieluszko Close to the Solidarnosc union, this priest was assassinated in 1984 by the communist regime in place in Warsaw at the time of the Iron Curtain.

“Belief in the primacy of Western civilization and the Christian faith”

Trump has long cultivated his “Catholic” networks. Last October, for example, he participated in the traditional “Al Smith Dinner” gala dinner in New York – an event organized by the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation which serves to raise funds for Catholic charities in favor of underprivileged children in the Archdiocese of New York. Very comfortable in a tuxedo and bow tie, he is then questioned on stage by a Catholic journalist on abortion, the Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wadein vitro fertilization, or “IVF”.

Also invited, Democrat Kamala Harris, curiously chose to snub this dinner which presidential candidates usually attend. Meanwhile, Donald Trump – whose campaign rallies open with the tune of Ave Maria – multiplies the signals towards the Catholic community. And does not miss an opportunity to recall that he met Pope Francis (it was in 2017). Kamala Harris cannot say the same. To this day, she has never been received in audience with the Sovereign Pontiff. This perhaps explains it: on November 5, Donald Trump was well ahead of his opponent in all the “swing states” among the Catholic electorate.

“The presence of President Trump at Notre-Dame is not surprising; on the contrary, it is completely natural, insists The Express the very religious Chris Ruddy, Catholic boss of the media Newsmax and personal friend of the 47th of the American head of state. Trump has long had close ties to the Catholic Church; Melania is Catholic and all of her children were raised in the Catholic faith.” Her eldest daughter Ivanka, however, converted to Judaism and scrupulously observes Shabbat with her husband Jared Kushner. Insisting on the president’s good score among the electorate Catholic, media mogul Chris Ruddy concludes: “His presence at Notre-Dame de Paris also corresponds to his “belief in the primacy of Western civilization and the Christian faith.”

You should know that Americans’ attachment to Notre-Dame is also measured in hard cash. “After the French, the Americans were by far the biggest donors for the restoration of the cathedral,” says Michel Picaud, president of the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris. The revival of this monument dear to Americans owes much to the avalanche of donations, from 10 dollars to 10 million dollars, from across the Atlantic. Questioned by AFP, professor of medieval art and architecture at UCLA University in Los Angeles, Meredith Cohen, explains for her part: “Americans also love Victor Hugo, who made Notre-Dame famous through his books and his writings on the city, as well as his striking description of revolutionary Paris in Les Miserableswhich was a huge success on Broadway and in the cinema.”

However, some of the donors are precisely wealthy voters of Donald Trump, sometimes members of his private club Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida. “Seeing my friend Donald Trump in Notre Dame Cathedral, it’s wonderful,” enthuses, in Miami, former ambassador Robin Bernstein, a close friend of Trump and now a member of the Mar-a-Lago club. What a beautiful image just before Christmas!”, adds this French-speaking woman who cherishes Franco-American friendship. “Our Lady, transcends religions,” says this woman of Jewish faith. This cathedral is like our Statue of Liberty or your Eiffel Tower. She is France of course but she is also universal. Notre-Dame is also a little bit like America!”