WASHINGTON (AP) Developments on Wednesday, April 25, about French President Emmanuel Macron speaking in front of a joint meeting of Congress (all times Eastern Daylight Time).
- 12:08 p.m.
“I have a Rendezvous with Death.”
Macron used those chilling words from an American soldier-poet to stress the historical alliance between the U.S. and France in his speech to Congress.
They were written by Alan Seeger a century ago in the World War I battlefields of northern France. His bones now lie mixed in with those of others who died alongside him on July 4, 1916.
Macron’s speech highlighted the ways the U.S. and France have long sacrificed for each other. But in repeating the Seeger quote, Macron also took aim at the isolationism President Donald Trump has favored.
Seeger embraced the idea of fighting for a global, common cause, and his “Rendezvous with Death” poem eventually became a favorite of President John Kennedy.
- 11:54 a.m.
Macron urged the United States against “closing the door to the world.”
Macron said Americans and Europeans were “living in a time of anger and fear” under global threats.
“But these feelings do not build anything. You can play with fear and anger for a time,” he said, adding, “Anger only freezes and weakens us.”
“We can choose isolationism, withdrawal and nationalism — but closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world,” Macron said.
He spoke after a state visit with Trump, who has pushed an “America first” agenda on key global agreements, jobs, the military, and immigration policy.
- 11:40 a.m.
Macron lashed out against fake news — and gave a tongue-in-cheek apology for violating Trump’s “copyright” on the term.
Macron warned lies disseminated online were threatening freedoms worldwide.
“Without reason, without truth, there is no real democracy because democracy is about true choices and rational decisions,” said Macron, an independent centrist.
Macron tasked his government this year with drafting a law to punish false information distributed during election campaigns. Macron said his presidential campaign last year was a victim of fake news, notably accusing Russian news sites RT and Sputnik.
He also warned against “terrorist propaganda that spreads its fanaticism on the internet.”
- 11:30 a.m.
Macron cast climate policy in Donald Trump’s signature terms.
Macron said he was confident the U.S. would re-join the Paris climate agreement.
“Let us work together in order to make our planet great again and create new jobs and new opportunities while safeguarding our earth,” he appealed.
Because if earth’s climate continues to warm, “there is no Planet B,” he added.
It was a clear play on Trump’s signature campaign pledge in 2016 to “make America great again.” Trump canceled any U.S. involvement in the landmark climate accord and said his focus is on American jobs.
- 11:19 a.m.
Macron drew on the shared history and “special bond” of U.S.-French relations as he opened a joint meeting of Congress.
“the American and French people have had a rendezvous with freedom,” Macron said.
In recounting common bonds from the earliest days of United States, he was telling of a meeting between Ben Franklin and the French philosopher Voltaire, “kissing each other’s cheeks.”
In an apparent reference to his friendly meetings this week with Trump, he said, “It can remind you of something.”
