President Donald Trump was so impressed by the Bastille Day parade in France, which he attended upon the invitation of its new President Emmanuel Macron, that he promised on Monday that he will happily hold his own parade down Pennsylvania Avenue next summer.
Trump described the Bastille parade celebrating the French military as among “the greatest parades” he has ever witnessed. Such realization came to the President before he met with Macron privately at a hotel outside the annual United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York.
Trump said: “We may do something like that on July 4th in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue. It was a tremendous thing for France and for the people of France. People don’t know what great warriors they are in France.”
The President wants to not only replicate the Bastille Day parade, but to even surpass its grandeur and significance. Trump said: “We’re going to have to try and top it… It was really a beautiful thing to see. It was really so well done. We’re actually thinking about 4th of July having a really great parade to show our military strength.”
Trump also reminded of the importance and priority he accords to the U.S. military, as showcased in the $700 billion in military spending he is encouraging his administration to fulfill.
Trump and Macron are likely to discuss the Paris climate accords during their bilateral meeting today. Trump may have announced his intentions to withdraw the U.S. from said agreement in June, but there have been reports in recent days suggesting his willingness to let the country stay party to the deal, provided that it would do so under the right conditions.
The White House has denied any change or shift in previous announced policies on the Paris Agreement, even as experts see Macron, a fierce advocate of the accord to use the opportunity of meeting Trump anew to further convince him to change his mind on the deal.
Trump would only say that he looks forward to having a productive meeting with Macron who’s been consistently reaching out to him since he was elected as President. Trump added: “We have a lot of things to talk about. We’ll be discussing many different elements.”
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