President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday night that he would travel to Paris on Saturday to attend the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Trump made the announcement via his Truth Social network.
It will mark his first trip abroad since he won the presidential election last month.
‘President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so,’ Trump said. ‘It will be a very special day for all!’
In the weeks following the election, Trump has started to reestablish his position on the world stage, holding phone conversations with world leaders and hosting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night.
Trump was officially invited by the French government to attend the reopening and his team had been in discussions with Macron’s team for days to plan the visit, CNN reported.
Macron was the first world leader to congratulate Trump on his election win, doing so overnight on November 6, as it became clear the Republican bested Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
‘Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity,’ Macron wrote.
In turn, the ambassadorship to France was one of the first that Trump announced.
Over the weekend, Trump said that Ivanka Trump’s father-in-law Charles Kushner would serve as his ambassador to France.
Charles is the father of Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner.
Earlier Monday, Trump announced that his ambassador to the United Kingdom would be Arkansas billionaire investor Warren Stephens.
The ambassadorships to the U.K. and France have generally gone to close friends or top donors of the U.S. president.
On April 15, 2019, Notre Dame’s rooftop caught fire and almost toppled the 800-year-old cathedral, one of the most famous sites in the French capital.
Trump expressed horror at the fire at the time.
‘So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!’ he tweeted.
Macron set a five-year deadline to rehabilitate the cathedral from the fire.
The French president is expected to entertain around 50 heads of state to see the Notre Dame reopen.
President Joe Biden isn’t expected to attend the ceremony in Paris.
He arrived in Angola Monday, for the first and only trip to Africa and is due back at the White House on Thursday.
Despite some major political differences, Macron and Trump had a ‘bromance’ during the Republican’s term in office.
Macron received the first of only two White House state dinners that the Trump White House hosted.