FOREIGN AFFAIRS/FRANCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Tending to bonding before business, President Donald Trump and France’s Emmanuel Macron started off the French president’s visit Monday [4-23-18] with an anything-but-ordinary double date with their wives at George Washington’s house. The presidents and their spouses hopped on a helicopter bound for Mount Vernon, Washington’s historic riverside home, for a private dinner one night before the two leaders sit down for talks on a weighty agenda including security, trade and the Iran nuclear deal. Macron’s pomp-filled three-day state visit to Washington underscores the importance that both sides attach to the relationship: Macron, who calls Trump often, has emerged as something of a ‘Trump whisperer’ at a time when the American president’s relationships with other European leaders are more strained. Trump, who attaches great importance to the optics of pageantry and ceremony, chose to honor Macron with the first state visit of his administration as he woos the French president.”
–Darlene Superville, “No ordinary double date: Trumps, Macrons at Mount Vernon,” The Associated Press, April 23, 2018 3:10 pm