WATCH: Trump tours Palace of Versailles before dinner with France's Macron

By — Thomas Adamson, Associated Press Thomas Adamson, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/watch-trump-tours-palace-of-versailles-before-dinner-with-frances-macron Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Trump tours Palace of Versailles before dinner with France's Macron World Jun 17, 2026 5:51 PM EDT PARIS (AP) — Donald Trump explained the appeal in one sentence: "Versailles is not gold leaf — Versailles is the real deal." Watch in the video player above. For Emmanuel Macron, that was precisely the point. WATCH: Trump holds news conference as G7 summit in France wraps up On Wednesday night, the French president threw open Louis XIV's palace to his U.S. counterpart for a private reception, show and dinner marking America's 250th birthday. At a turbulent moment for the trans-Atlantic alliance, it could help Macron keep a personal channel open as the two navigate differences over Iran, Ukraine and tariffs. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. It already kept Trump from leaving a Group of Seven summit early, as he did last year in Canada. "I'm a fan of beautiful places," he told reporters, saying he had planned to leave earlier until "a very nice man" invited him to dinner. Upon arrival at the chateau, he posed for photographers in front of its golden doors. The welcome also served a practical purpose. In an interview earlier this week with France's TF1 television, Macron said Trump "needs to stay until the end" to help complete the summit's agreements. READ MORE: What's in the agreement to end the U.S. war in Iran, according to a U.S. official It is perhaps the biggest soft-power flex available to a French president: Versailles, the Hall of Mirrors, the gardens of the Sun King and several centuries of carefully polished national grandeur. "Versailles is a diplomatic tool and an instrument of influence," Macron said Wednesday, likening diplomacy to soccer. "Whether I'm playing at home or away, my goal is to score goals. And when I host other teams, I try to give them a nice welcome." France holds little economic or military sway over Washington, so pageantry is one of its few levers — even as its use elsewhere has brought mixed results at best. Soft power built from stone Macron and Trump have often clashed over policy. Their relationship has endured partly because Macron understands the power of personal attention, dramatic settings and a well-timed invitation. Their first meeting in 2017 produced a white-knuckled handshake that instantly became a symbol of their competitive rapport. Months later came dinner inside the Eiffel Tower and a place of honor at France's Bastille Day parade. Versailles raises the stakes, allowing a French president to wrap a modern political encounter in the scale and authority of national history. "It is soft-power flex based on hard buildings,