PARIS—President Trump arrived in Paris on Friday—at the end of a week that saw his party lose control of one chamber of Congress and the ouster of his attorney general—to meet his French counterpart and commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
Minutes after landing in Paris, Mr. Trump tweeted about comments French President Emmanuel Macron made this week on French radio. The French president called for the creation of a “true European army,” in a critique of trans-Atlantic security ties ahead of Mr. Trump’s visit.
Mr. Trump, who is scheduled to hold talks with Mr. Macron on Saturday, tweeted, “President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!”
The terse twitter exchange was reminiscent of a similar public spat between the two men over trade ahead of their meetings at the Group of Seven summit in June.
The president’s second official visit to Paris coincides with Veterans Day in the U.S. and will be aimed at honoring people who helped defend the U.S. in times of war and peace.
Mr. Trump is among dozens of world leaders expected to attend this weekend’s events, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The French president will host a luncheon for many of the visiting leaders.
A senior White House official said Mr. Trump was scheduled to hold talks only with Mr. Macron and had no formal meetings or brief pull-aside discussions planned with Mr. Putin or any other leaders.
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Mr. Trump’s trip comes days after Democrats won control of the House in Tuesday’s midterm elections, which will put them in position to delay or block the president’s agenda, ranging from his proposed border wall with Mexico to trade deals he has vowed to renegotiate. A day after the election, at a freewheeling and often combative White House news conference, he vowed a “warlike posture” should the Democrats exercise oversight, while simultaneously urging bipartisanship.
On foreign relations, Mr. Trump struck an optimistic note, tweeting that allies in other countries who had been waiting to negotiate trade deals had congratulated him on GOP victories. “Now we can all get back to work and get things done!” he wrote on Twitter.
Tough trade talks between the U.S. and its European partners have been under way for several months, but the president’s decision to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on many of America’s closest allies and trading partners has made for a tense working relationship, including with France. Mr. Macron also opposes the Trump administration’s re-imposition of sanctions on Iran and withdrawal from the Obama-era Iran nuclear agreement.
Most Western companies and banks pulled out of Iran before the sanctions were reimposed, fearing a loss of access to the U.S. economy. But European politicians have been trying to find ways to protect their companies and allow them to keep doing business with Iran.
The European Union has been trying to hash out a special payment channel for trade with Iran that skirts U.S. sanctions and allows European countries to continue doing business with Iranians.
Messrs. Trump and Macron have opted to set aside lingering differences on issues such as climate change and focus instead on areas where they can cooperate, including a postwar road map for Syria and broader security in the Middle East. They have also vowed to work together on conflicts in Ukraine and Libya.
Mr. Trump on Friday signed a presidential proclamation that, combined with a new rule issued by his administration, blocks immigrants crossing the border illegally from the asylum process, a move that critics say oversteps the president’s legal authority to change U.S. immigration law and is certain to end up in court.
The new rule is aimed at pushing asylum seekers to already crowded border crossings and denying the opportunity to apply for asylum to nearly all immigrants caught crossing the border illegally. The rule takes effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday.
The proclamation Mr. Trump signed suspends entry into the U.S. for illegal border crossers for 90 days. Administration officials say the president has the authority to limit asylum for some foreigners under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“People can come in, but they have to come in through the ports of entry,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he left for Paris on Friday.
Administration officials on a call with reporters said that individuals who are fleeing persecution and need protection should seek it in Mexico rather than in the U.S. “It is in their best interest, in the best interest of everyone, for them to seek that protection as soon as possible,” an administration official said.
The rule change and expected proclamation—which effectively change U.S. immigration law—are intended to reduce the volume of immigrants crossing the border illegally to seek asylum in the U.S. It comes as the president in the weeks leading up to Election Day repeatedly criticized the thousands of mostly Central American migrants making their way to the U.S. in multiple caravans traveling through Mexico. Since the election, Mr. Trump hasn’t tweeted about the caravan and has made scant mention of it publicly.
Sunday’s Armistice Day commemoration will be absent the fanfare—and military parade—that so captured the president’s interest during his visit to Paris for Bastille Day celebrations in July last year, inspiring efforts by the White House to mount a similar military parade in Washington on Nov. 10 this year. The Pentagon and White House in August said that parade would be delayed to 2019.
Mr. Trump’s visit is intended to be a low-key observance of the anniversary, with the president and first lady scheduled to pay their respects at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial on Saturday. The president is also set to speak at an American commemoration ceremony at Suresnes American Cemetery.
At his White House press conference on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he expected the commemoration to be “very beautiful.”
“I’m looking forward to going,” he said. “ And we’re representing the incredible heroes of the world, but the heroes of our country from World War I.”
—Rebecca Ballhaus contributed to this article.
Write to Vivian Salama at vivian.salama@wsj.com
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