Thread by @Monaheart1229

Trump’s Nationalism Rebuked at World War I Commemoration
#SundayMorning #Nationalism #WWI100
nyti.ms/2DetLIG

2/"President Trump’s brand of “America First” nationalism was repudiated on Sunday as leaders from around the globe gathered to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I and reaffirm the international bonds that have once again come under strain.

3/"Stone-faced and unmoved, the American leader listened as President Emmanuel Macron of France used the ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe to denounce self-interested nationalism and extol the sort of globalism and international institutions that Mr. Trump has spent the last two

4/"years pulling the United States away from. “Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism,” Mr. Macron said in a speech on a dreary, rain-soaked day. “Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism by saying, ‘our interest first, who cares about the others?’” Remembering the forces

5/"that led to World War I, Mr. Macron warned that “the old demons” have been resurfacing and declared that “giving into the fascination for withdrawal, isolationism, violence and domination would be a grave error that future generations would very rightly make us responsible for

6/" Mr. Trump, who recently declared himself “nationalist,” appeared grim as he listened to a translation of the speech through an earpiece and clapped only tepidly afterward. He had no speaking role at the ceremony, but planned to deliver an address later in the day at a

7/"cemetery for American soldiers killed in the war. The ceremony encapsulated the tension in the international arena as Mr. Trump seeks to rewrite the rules that have governed the world in recent decades. Mr. Trump has argued that other nations have taken advantage of the United

8/"States, whether in economics or security, and that it was time to look after American interests first. He has pulled the country out of a number of international agreements on trade, nuclear proliferation and climate change, and disparaged alliances like NATO and the European

9/"Union. He has denounced virtually every trade pact that the United States has ever agreed to and recently forced Canada and Mexico to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement in a way that he says will benefit the United States more...The tensions were on display during

10/"the president’s meeting with Mr. Macron on Saturday, a day after Mr. Trump issued a Twitter blast at his French host, calling a proposal for a European army “very insulting.” Mr. Macron explained that the idea was not to counter the United States but to relieve it of some of

11/"the burden for European security, a constant theme of Mr. Trump’s. “We know where we disagree, and we are very straightforward in that — on climate, on trade, on multilateralism — but we work very well together because we have very regular and direct discussions,” Mr. Macron

12/"said later in an interview with Fareed Zakaria of CNN. Mr. Macron termed himself “a patriot” as distinct from a “nationalist.” “I do defend my country. I do believe that we have a strong identity,” Mr. Macron said. “But I’m a strong believer in cooperation between the

13/"different peoples, and I’m a strong believer of the fact that this cooperation is good for everybody, where the nationalists are sometimes much more based on a unilateral approach and the law of the strongest, which is not my case.” ...Aside from their friction, Mr. Trump’s

14/"two-day visit to Paris was marred by his decision on Saturday to scrap a planned visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at the foot of the hill where the Battle of Belleau Wood was fought. Aides cited the rain in canceling a helicopter flight, but it went over badly in

15/"Europe. Winston Churchill’s grandson called Mr. Trump “pathetic” and not fit to represent the United States. Mr. Trump has another chance to pay respects to the war dead on Sunday, when he is scheduled to visit the Suresnes American Cemetery outside Paris. But he will not

16/"stay for a Paris peace forum that Mr. Macron is sponsoring to bring together world leaders to discuss ways to avoid conflict. By contrast, Mr. Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, representing the two nations that were once bitter enemies, demonstrated the close

17/"friendship that has emerged from the rubble of war. In appearances over the weekend, the French and German leaders appeared affectionate, and Mr. Macron later posted a picture of the two holding hands along with the single word “Unis,” or “United.” Led by Mr. Macron, dozens

18/"of world leaders on Sunday marched down the Champs-Élysées under black umbrellas as a chill rain fell and soldiers wearing feathered helmets and bearing swords stood watch...Mr. Trump arrived in his own motorcade, traveling separately, aides said, because of security,

19/**[looks to me as though the WH-SS are really worried about his assassination at this point] "and joined the world leaders under a transparent enclosure at the arch. Then President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia arrived, approached Mr. Trump, shook his hand and gave him a

20/"friendly pat on the arm before taking his place...“The traces of that war never have not faded from French soil. They have not faded from Europe, from the Middle East nor from our memories,” Mr. Macron said. “Let us not forget, because the remembrances of these sacrifices

21/"urges us to be worthy of those who died for us that we may live free.”
~excerpts from NYT article by Peter Baker & Alissa Rubin, 11/11/18