President-elect Donald Trump held court in France on Saturday and received eager greetings from a host of well-known world leaders as he attended the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The video went viral of the former and future president walking to his seat and stopping to shake hands with heads of state. President Biden did not make the trip, and Trump sat next to first lady Jill Biden and their daughter Ashley, who also warmly greeted the incoming president.
Social media users were quick to point out the pomp and circumstance — including a red carpet — that was rolled out for Trump in a manner usually reserved for a sitting president.
“If this whole thing had been written as a movie plot, Hollywood would have passed it up because it would have been seen as too far-fetched,” one person wrote in a comment on X.
TRUMP MEETS MACRON AND ZELENSKYY FOR NOTRE DAME REOPENING CEREMONY IN PARIS
“President Trump is greeted by Prince William, world leaders and heads of state from around the world at the official reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. It’s safe to say the US is well and truly back and respected on the world stage,” another person commented.
“Hard to say if this was the reopening of Notre Dame or the reopening of Trump as world leader,” Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo wrote on X.
President-elect Donald Trump talks with Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, at Notre Dame Cathedral before France’s iconic cathedral formally reopens its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old monument in 2019, Saturday December .7, 2024 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
“So it appears that Trump is already acting president. No need for inauguration. The world has been waiting for the US to finally have leadership, and just like that, Notre Dame walked in,” Not the Bee wrote in the parody.
“One by one, world leaders rise to greet President Trump. This is what respect for our president and our country looks like,” former Deputy Treasury Secretary Monica Crowley wrote on X.
While at the cathedral, Trump was also greeted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as well as Britain’s Prince William, who later met the president-elect at the British ambassador’s residence in Paris.
“A good man, this one. He’s doing a fantastic job,” Trump told reporters as he shook Prince William’s hand.
Before the event, Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macronand the two shook hands in a gesture that quickly went viral online.
French President Emmanuel Macron meets with President-elect Donald Trump at the Elysee Palace on December 7, 2024 in Paris, France. (Oleg Nikishin)
“President Trump is back to dominating world leaders with his handshake,” one user, George, wrote in a post on
“President Trump abuses French President Emmanuel Macron with one of the most domineering handshakes I have ever seen,” said commentator Drew Hernandez. “We’ll be right back.”
Trump’s handshakes with world leaders have gone viral over the years, including when he pulled Russian President Putin’s arm in during a handshake at the G-20 summit in 2019.
Noticeably absent from the festivities was President Biden, who declined an invitation to attend the Notre Dame ceremony five years after a devastating fire destroyed the century-old Paris monument, with the White House citing a “scheduling conflict.”
Trump’s appearance marked his unofficial return to the world stage and served as a reminder that he is quickly becoming the center of the world’s attention.
“This is without a doubt an important moment in French history and the fact that Macron wanted to share this with Trump speaks to the significance of what Trump is achieving even before he returns to the Oval Office,” said Brett Bruen, a public affairs and strategic advisor. communications veteran and former U.S. diplomat who served under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
“He is literally being celebrated in Paris with all the glitz and glamour,” added Bruen, president of the Global Situation Room.
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The trip to Paris comes a week later Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hurriedly made an unannounced stop at Mar-a-Lago to have dinner with Trump after the president-elect threatened a trade war with Canada and Mexico.
Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
