Subject: Travel Pool Report #14
Motorcade arrived at the Hotel de Prefecture du Calvados at 2:26pm and was rushed into a courtyard lined with guards just as POTUS, FLOTUS, Macron and his wife Brigitte were arriving.
The foursome walked down a short red carpet in the center of the courtyard and posed for photos at the end. POTUS and Macron then proceeded inside alone.
Pool is waiting to enter Salon Abeilles, the room where their bilateral meeting will take place.
Subject: Travel Pool Report #15 — Pool spray comments
Pool entered the room with POTUS and Macron at 2:38 PM local.
Macron spoke first, in French. POTUS was given a translation device roughly 2 minutes into Macron’s remarks, so the French leader switched to English and promised to repeat what he said.
POTUS and Macron took questions. Highlights below.
On Brexit/UK visit: “Very big news will be who is the new prime minister in the U.K. So I think before you can find out what’s going to happen in the next few weeks you have to find out who’s going to be the next leader.”
On timing of new tariffs on China: “I make that decision in the next two weeks after the G20. I will be meeting with President Xi and we’ll see what happens, we’re probably planning it sometime after G20.”
On disagreements with Macron on Iran: “I don’t think we have differences over Iran. The president doesn’t want to see Iran have nuclear weapons and neither do it.”
“They’re failing as a nation and I don’t want to see them fail as a nation. We can turn that around quickly.”
Macron jumped in to say he thinks “we do share he same objective.”
“We had an instrument until 2025,” Macron said, but “we want to go further.”
Macron added: “So we have to deliver together this sole objective.”
More TK
Thanks for posting all the travel pool reports.