Trump Abroad

August1991 · July 13, 2017

I was surprised to learn that Trump was going to France for Bastille Day. From what I knew, Trump generally disliked foreign travel and only went to Scotland because of his mother, and his golf course. In general, he stayed in the US.

I suspect that Trump has learned the difference, sadly in this 21st century world, between being a billionaire and being a Head of State. As US HoS, the world works on his time. So, I suspect that his entire visit to France will function on Washington time. For Trump, there will be no jet lag. This works best for short foreign visits and I would not be surprised to see more in the future.

As a billionaire, Trump is used to sleeping in a bed on his own plane. He is not used to making foreigners accept his time zone. Noblesse oblige.

Edited July 13, 2017 by August1991

bush_cheney2004 · July 13, 2017

Macron has espoused a "liking" of Trump, and while that could be true, I think Macron seeks to counter Germany/Merkel's power in the EU with Trumpian leverage.

At the G-7 meeting, Macron went out of his way to connect with Trump.

Quote

"I saw a leader with strong opinions on a number of subjects, which I share in part — the fight against terrorism, the willingness to keep our place in the family of nations — and with whom I have disagreements that we spoke about very calmly," Macron said on Trump last month.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/339795-frances-macron-invites-trump-to-visit-for-bastille-day

Wilber · July 13, 2017

Only six hours difference to Paris. Only five to Scotland. Child's play. Try it from the west coast.

Getting out of town when things go sideways is a favourite ploy of leaders of all stripes. BC Premiers excel at it. Leave it to the minions to take the beatings

The_Squid · July 13, 2017

His imaginary friend "Jim" told him all about France.

Quote

For all things Paris, President Donald Trump's go-to guy is Jim.

The way Trump tells it — Jim is a friend who loves Paris and used to visit every year. Yet when Trump travels to the city Thursday for his first time as president, it's unlikely that Jim will tag along. Jim doesn't go to Paris anymore. Trump says that's because the city has been infiltrated by foreign extremists.

Whether Jim exists is unclear. Trump has never given his last name. The White House has not responded to a request for comment about who Jim is or whether he will be on the trip.

Trump repeatedly talked about the enigmatic Jim while on the campaign trail, but his friend didn't receive widespread attention until Trump became president. For Trump, Jim's story serves as a cautionary tale - a warning that even a place as lovely as Paris can be ruined if leaders are complacent about terrorism.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/12/trump-in-paris-the-curious-case-of-his-friend-jim.html

Hal 9000 · July 13, 2017

39 minutes ago, The_Squid said:

His imaginary friend "Jim" told him all about France.

You probably never believed in Big Bird's friend Mr. Snuffleupagus either.

Omni · July 13, 2017

1 hour ago, Wilber said:

Only six hours difference to Paris. Only five to Scotland. Child's play. Try it from the west coast.

Getting out of town when things go sideways is a favourite ploy of leaders of all stripes. BC Premiers excel at it. Leave it to the minions to take the beatings

I can imagine Trump is all too happy to suffer through a 6 hour time change to arrive in France and try to dodge the flak his sons emails have created.

Mots de Christ!

August1991 · July 13, 2017

17 hours ago, Wilber said:

Only six hours difference to Paris. Only five to Scotland. Child's play. Try it from the west coast.

Getting out of town when things go sideways is a favourite ploy of leaders of all stripes. BC Premiers excel at it. Leave it to the minions to take the beatings

Six/five hours, when you're over 70, it's not child's play. And you have to go through the process twice!

I'd be curious to see the exact schedule of his meetings in France because I'm sure they're scheduled on Washington time. Once Trump clues into this, he'll be travelling abroad more often - but for short visits.

Now he has a 747 (truly a flying Oval Office) rather than a 757 - but the real change is the power to make zillions of people (and I mean zillions) re-arrange their schedule.

BTW, there is not one Air Force One; there are in fact two. Years ago, I saw them both side by side on the tarmac at Vnukova airport in Moscow. (Heck, there may be now three of them... )

Link

Edited July 13, 2017 by August1991

Wilber · July 13, 2017

3 hours ago, August1991 said:

Six/five hours, when you're over 70, it's not child's play. And you have to go through the process twice!

I'd be curious to see the exact schedule of his meetings in France because I'm sure they're scheduled on Washington time. Once Trump clues into this, he'll be travelling abroad more often - but for short visits.

Now he has a 747 (truly a flying Oval Office) rather than a 757 - but the real change is the power to make zillions of people (and I mean zillions) re-arrange their schedule.

BTW, there is not one Air Force One; there are in fact two. Years ago, I saw them both side by side on the tarmac at Vnukova airport in Moscow. (Heck, there may be now three of them... )

Link

True, it does get harder as you get older. That's why I don't miss it. In the olden days I used to do things like. Vancouver-Calgary- Manchester-deadhead to Frankfurt. Overnight then Frankfurt- Toronto. Overnight then Toronto-London. Overnight then London-Edmonton- Vancouver. Working, not sleeping.

There is only one Air Force One, the one the president is on. There are two aircraft though and they are used interchangeably. The POTUS and the VP never travel on the same aircraft. The one carrying the VP becomes Air Force Two.

We used to think the eastern crews were wimps with their short little trans Atlantic flights.

Edited July 13, 2017 by Wilber

SpankyMcFarland · July 15, 2017

On 2017-07-13 at 9:22 PM, Wilber said:

True, it does get harder as you get older. That's why I don't miss it. In the olden days I used to do things like. Vancouver-Calgary- Manchester-deadhead to Frankfurt. Overnight then Frankfurt- Toronto. Overnight then Toronto-London. Overnight then London-Edmonton- Vancouver. Working, not sleeping.

That's mad. These days, I find St. John's-Heathrow-Dublin too much and I'm just luggage. Last year, I went to South Africa and that was a mammoth task.

Leaving aside his other issues, Trump has presidential-level energy and seems to get by on a few hours of sleep each night but I doubt his journeys are as unpleasant as a steerage ruffian like myself, constantly being told to line up and produce documents or move my elbow in or battling a kicking/crying kid behind me and snoring behemoths to the left and right of me.

Wilber · July 15, 2017

3 hours ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

That's mad. These days, I find St. John's-Heathrow-Dublin too much and I'm just luggage. Last year, I went to South Africa and that was a mammoth task.

Leaving aside his other issues, Trump has presidential-level energy and seems to get by on a few hours of sleep each night but I doubt his journeys are as unpleasant as a steerage ruffian like myself, constantly being told to line up and produce documents or move my elbow in or battling a kicking/crying kid behind me and snoring behemoths to the left and right of me.

Seems brutal now but we were young and thought it was normal at the time. Probably illegal with today's rules. Pre 9/11 travel was also much less stressful.