Trump started off by claiming that Emmanuel Macron insulted the United States when the French president proposed the idea of the continent having its own defense force. Trump mistakenly conflated two statements made by Macron (spoken days apart), mis-characterizing what he meant. Trump likely just pulled that bullshit straight from Fox News' morning show.
After that, Trump's ignorance was on full display in a tweet when he said that anniversaries of war should be celebrated, rather than commemorated. He also clearly didn't know that World War I wasn't even in the top five of deadliest wars in the modern era-- with World War II incurring over 5 times the number of casualties.
Trump then brought on a heap of criticism by using the rain as an excuse to not visit Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near the village of Belleau, France. It's the site of a 1918 battle in which the American and French repelled German forces. More than 1,800 Americans died there. Chief of Staff John Kelly made the visit in Trump's place, and didn't seem any worse for the wear.
The next day, Trump was seemingly rebuked by Emmanuel Macron and didn't even realize it, when the French president delivered a passionate indictment of nationalism, saying:
“Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying, ‘Our interests first, who cares about the others,’ we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what gives it grace and what is essential: its moral values."Trump has yet to verbally acknowledge Macron’s comment on nationalism, but he did appear to grimace after Macron spoke.
On Sunday, observers from around the world were treated to photographs of world leaders walking shoulder to shoulder along the Champs Elysees in a show of unity to mark the 100 years since the moment World War I drew to a close. The symbolic march was made without Vladimir Putin or the ostensible “leader of the free world,” who both declined to join the even due to "security" reasons.
In a veiled dig at Trump's America-first policies and skepticism toward multilateral cooperation, Merkel issued remarks later in the day, warning that "lack of communication and unwillingness to compromise" can have deadly consequences.
This weekend was the latest in a long string of diplomatic and public relations failures, which only serve to remind everyone how offensive Trump is to most people and how isolated he has become in the global community.
Trump is considered so offensive that he’s deliberately excluded from ceremonial events-- McCain’s funeral, Barbara Bush’s funeral, the recent U.K. royal wedding are just a few recent examples. In other cases, Trump boycotts ceremonial events for political reasons-- such as the White House Correspondents’ Dinner or the Kennedy Center Honors.
In still other cases, Trump wants to participate in ceremonial events, but others don’t want to be in his company-- such as the opening of the Mississippi Civil Righs museum last year, or the many championship sports teams who have declined White House invitations.
At this point, the only question is: will he be impeached, will he resign or do we have to wait two more years for voters to kick him out?
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