NEW YORK — It's reunion time on the world's biggest stage.
President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron will sit down Monday evening in New York for a high-stakes huddle on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly — and early signals from both camps suggest the chemistry between the two leaders is very much intact.
The meeting, locked in for 5:35 p.m. ET, was confirmed by the White House on Sunday night, sending diplomatic circles into a flutter about what the two men might cook up together this time.
A diplomatic whirlwind
Macron has been on a diplomatic sprint to get to the Big Apple. The French president jetted in from Saint-Pierre and Miquelon — a tiny French territory off Canada's Atlantic coast — where he'd just wrapped talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
It's all part of a carefully choreographed week of shuttle diplomacy that's seen Macron plant France's flag on multiple fronts in a single day. Not bad for a man who started his week on a remote North Atlantic island.
The bromance lives on
Trump and Macron have long shared one of the more fascinating relationships on the global stage — equal parts handshake theatrics, mutual flattery and genuine strategic alignment on key issues.
Monday's sit-down is expected to cover the full menu: the war in Ukraine, Middle East tensions, trade, and the future of the Western alliance. Sources close to both leaders say the tone will be warm and businesslike — two men who know how to do deals doing a deal.
"They have a real rapport. It's genuine. When these two get in a room together, things happen."
Zelensky in the mix
Macron isn't just in town for Trump. The French leader is also scheduled to huddle with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the General Assembly's marathon of meetings — a diplomatic hat-trick that underscores Paris' determination to stay at the centre of every major conversation this week.
For Trump, the New York trip is a chance to project presidential gravitas on the world's most watched diplomatic stage — surrounded by flags, motorcades and the full theatre of global summitry.
Watch this space
With the UN General Assembly drawing dozens of world leaders to Manhattan, the Trump-Macron meeting is shaping up as one of the marquee moments of the week — a reminder that even in an era of fractured alliances, personal chemistry still counts for something.
And if the handshake is anything like the old days? Expect the cameras to catch every second of it.
