Canceled due to rain

Trump was supposed to visit the Great War cemetery at Belleau Wood this morning but he skipped it because it’s raining.

After an hour of talks between the two leaders and lunch with their wives Melania and Brigitte, Mr Trump had been scheduled to visit two American cemeteries over the weekend, but later cancelled his trip to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial due to “scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather”.

The White House said that Gen John Kelly, its chief of staff, would attend on the president’s behalf.

The decision attracted much derision on social media, including from former George W Bush speechwriter David Frum who like many drew comparisons with the conditions faced by the troops who fought and died in World War One.

Mr Trump is still expected to attend a sombre commemoration at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a memorial to France’s fallen under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

On Saturday afternoon, Mr Macron and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the town of Compiègne in northern France, where the Allies and Germany signed the Armistice.

Visiting heads of state will then gather for dinner in Paris in the evening.

Sunday afternoon will see Mr Macron and Mrs Merkel attend a peace conference – the Paris Peace Forum – with leaders including Mr Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr Trump will not be present, however, which his National Security Adviser John Bolton put down to a diary full of “pressing issues”.

By which of course he means much tv to watch.

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