Back in April 2019, the Notre-Dame de Paris, a Catholic cathedral in France, suffered severe damage due to a fire. With the restoration that has taken place, however, the cathedral is set to open to the public once more on December 8. President-elect Donald Trump, as he announced in a Truth Social post on Monday night, will be in attendance this weekend. The Trump-Vance transition team also sent out an email alerting people of such a post.
"It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago," Trump shared. He also offered words of praise for France's president. "President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!"
It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago. President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) December 3, 2024
CNN had more about the visit, noting that it is his first international trip since he was elected last month. "Trump’s team has been in discussions for days with French President Emmanuel Macron’s office regarding the visit, and the US president-elect was invited by the French government to attend the reopening, sources familiar with the plans told CNN," the report also mentioned.
Former and future First Lady Melania Trump is Catholic, and has accompanied her husband to the Al Smith dinner, where he spoke in October at an event to benefit Catholic Charities. It was an event that Vice President Kamala Harris notably did not attend, but rather submitted a particularly cringeworthy prerecorded video, and was booed as a result. Trump also was leading with Catholics in polls before the 2024 election, and ended up handily winning the coveted demographic who barely voted in favor of President Joe Biden, supposedly a "devout" Catholic, in 2020.
Trump has also frequently made social media posts in celebration of Catholic feast days and events, such as All Saints' Day on November 1 and the Blessed Virgin Mary's birthday on September 8.
Wishing everyone a Blessed and Happy All Saints’ Day! pic.twitter.com/5VlPkCJ7M5
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2024
Happy Birthday Mary! pic.twitter.com/d1nwHWTk2b
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2024
There was also a Catholics for Trump coalition leading up to the 2024 election. One of those members, Callista Gingrich, formerly the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, also spoke at the RNC in July to praise Trump's commitment to religious freedom, something that has come under attack during the Biden-Harris administration, especially when it come to religious freedom for Christians, with Harris having her own biases against Catholics, as Trump has highlighted.
Trump has been rather busy on social media for Monday. Earlier in the day, as we covered, he issued a clear warning declaring that the hostages being held in Gaza must be released. Trump's statement demanded that Hamas release the hostages still being held in Gaza, and do so before he is inaugurated on January 20, 2025, otherwise "there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East."
Both of Trump's announcements have been trending topics over X for Monday.