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July 12, 2017

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP

IN AN OFF-THE-RECORD CONVERSATION WITH PRESS

Aboard Air Force One

En Route Paris, France

9:15 P.M. EDT

On the visit to France:

Q When were you last in Paris? When were you last in France?

THE PRESIDENT: So I was asked to go by the President, who I get along with very well, despite a lot of fake news. You know, I actually have a very good relationship with all of the people at the G20. And he called me, he said, would you come, it's Bastille Day -- 100 years since World War I. And I said, that's big deal, 100 years since World War I. SO we're going to go, I think we're going to have a great time, and we're going to do something good. And he's doing a good job. He's doing a good job as President.

On North Korea, China, and trade:

THE PRESIDENT: A big thing we have with China was, if they could help us with North Korea, that would be great. They have pressures that are tough pressures, and I understand. And you know, don't forget, China, over the many years, has been at war with Korea -- you know, wars with Korea. It's not like, oh, gee, you just do whatever we say. They've had numerous wars with Korea.

They have an 8,000 year culture. So when they see 1776 -- to them, that's like a modern building. The White House was started -- was essentially built in 1799. To us, that's really old. To them, that's like a super modern building, right? So, you know, they've had tremendous conflict over many, many centuries with Korea. So it's not just like, you do this. But we're going to find out what happens.

Very important to me with China, we have to fix the trade. We have to fix the trade. And I've been going a little bit easier because I'd like to have their help. It's hard to go ***. But we have to fix the trade with China because it's very, very none-reciprocal.

Q Is that your bargaining chip with them to get on board with North Korea? Is, like, you want to --

THE PRESIDENT: Nobody has ever said it before. I say it all the time. Somebody said, what cards do you have? I said, very simple -- trade. We are being absolutely devastated by bad trade deals. We have the worst of all trade deals is with China.

We have a bad deal with South Korea. We're just starting negotiations with South Korea. South Korea, we protect, but we're losing $40 billion a year with South Korea on trade. We have a trade deficit of $40 billion. The deal just came up.

That was another Hillary Clinton beauty. Remember she said it was five-year deal, and now it's an extension period. She said this will put jobs in our country. She said we'll make money with it. Great. We're losing $40 billion a year. It's a horrible deal. So we're starting -- we started, as of yesterday, renegotiating the deal with South Korea. We have to.

But the biggest strength we have are these horrendous trade deals, like with China. That's our strength. But we're going to fix them. But in terms of North Korea, our strength is trade.

Q And do you think that's going to bring them around?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, yeah, when I say reciprocal -- you make reciprocal deals, you're talking about hundreds of billions of dollars. But before I did that, I wanted to give it a good shot. Let's see. And they helped us. I have a very good relationship with him. I think he's a tremendous guy. But don't forget. He's for China. I'm for the U.S. So that's always going to be.

So he could be a tremendous guy, but he's going to do what's good for China. And he doesn't want 50 million people pouring across his border. You know, there are a lot of things. I understand the other side. You always have to understand the other side.

Q What about steel?

THE PRESIDENT: Steel is a big problem. Steel is -- I mean, they're dumping steel. Not only China, but others. We're like a dumping ground, okay? They're dumping steel and destroying our steel industry, they've been doing it for decades, and I'm stopping it. It'll stop.

Q On tariffs?

THE PRESIDENT: There are two ways -- quotas and tariffs. Maybe I'll do both.

On healthcare:

THE PRESIDENT: No, I think, first, I want to do -- well, we have a few things. We have a thing called healthcare. I'm sure you haven't been reading about it too much. It is one of the -- I'd say the only thing more difficult than peace between Israel and the Palestinians is healthcare. It's like this narrow road that about a quarter of an inch wide. You get a couple here and you say, great, and then you find out you just lost four over here. Healthcare is tough.

But I think we're going to have something that's really good and that people are going to like. We're going to find out over the next -- you know, we just extended for two weeks. Which, that's a big --

On the border wall:

Q You were joking about solar, right?

THE PRESIDENT: No, not joking, no. There is a chance that we can do a solar wall. We have major companies looking at that. Look, there's no better place for solar than the Mexico border -- the southern border. And there is a very good chance we can do a solar wall, which would actually look good. But there is a very good chance we could do a solar wall.

One of the things with the wall is you need transparency. You have to be able to see through it. In other words, if you can't see through that wall -- so it could be a steel wall with openings, but you have to have openings because you have to see what's on the other side of the wall.

And I'll give you an example. As horrible as it sounds, when they throw the large sacks of drugs over, and if you have people on the other side of the wall, you don't see them -- they hit you on the head with 60 pounds of stuff? It's over. As crazy as that sounds, you need transparency through that wall. But we have some incredible designs.

But we are seriously looking at a solar wall. And remember this, it's a 2,000 mile border, but you don't need 2,000 miles of wall because you have a lot of natural barriers. You have mountains. You have some rivers that are violent and vicious. You have some areas that are so far away that you don't really have people crossing. So you don't need that. But you'll need anywhere from 700 to 900 miles.

Plus we have some wall that's already up that we're already fixing. You know, we've already started the wall because we're fixing large portions of wall right now. We're taking wall that was good but it's in very bad shape, and we're making it new. We're fixing it. It's already started. So we've actually, in the true sense -- you know, there's no reason to take it down or ***. So in a true sense, we've already started the wall.

On Donald Trump, Jr.:

THE PRESIDENT: Don is -- as many of you know Don -- he's a good boy. He's a good kid. And he had a meeting, nothing happened with the meeting. It was a short meeting as he told me -- because I only heard about it two or three days ago.

As he told me, the meeting went -- and it was attended by a couple of other people who -- one of them left after a few minutes -- which is Jared. The other one was playing with his iPhone. Don listened, out of politeness, and realized it wasn't . . . .

Honestly, in a world of politics, most people are going to take that meeting. If somebody called and said, hey -- and you're a Democrat -- and by the way, they have taken them -- hey, I have really some information on Donald Trump. You're running against Donald Trump. Can I see you? I mean, how many people are not going to take the meeting?

On President Putin and Russia:

Q Are you mad that Putin lied about the meeting that you had with him, especially about --

THE PRESIDENT: What meeting?

Q At the G20, when he said that you didn't -- you know, you accepted that the hacking wasn't real.

THE PRESIDENT: He didn't say that. No. He said, I think he accepted it, but you'd have to ask him. That's a big difference. So I said, very simply -- and the first 45 minutes, don't forget, most of the papers said I'd never bring it up. Had to be the first 20 to 25 minutes.

And I said to him, were you involved with the meddling in the election? He said, absolutely not. I was not involved. He was very strong on it. I then said to him again, in a totally different way, were you involved with the meddling. He said, I was not -- absolutely not.

Q Do you remember what the different way was that you asked --

THE PRESIDENT: Somebody said later to me, which was interesting. Said, let me tell you, if they were involved, you wouldn't have found out about it. Okay, which is a very interesting point.

Q But did you say, okay, I believe you, let's move on?

THE PRESIDENT: What I said, I asked him, were you involved? He said, very strongly -- said to him a second time -- totally different -- were you involved? Because we can't let that happen. And I mean whether it's Russia or anybody else, we can't let there be even a scintilla of doubt when it comes to an election. I mean, I'm very strong on that.

And I'm not saying it wasn't Russia. What I'm saying is that we have to protect ourselves no matter who it is. You know, China is very good at this. I hate to say it, North Korea is very good at this. Look what they did to Sony Studios. They were the ones that did the whole deal to Sony. You know, we're dealing with highly sophisticate people.

So, China is very good. You have many countries. And you have many individuals that are very good at this. But we can't have -- and I did say, we can't have a scintilla of doubt as our elections and going forward.

Q Have you told him that?

THE PRESIDENT: I told him. I said, look, we can't -- we can't have -- now, he said absolutely not twice. What do you do? End up in a fistfight with somebody, okay? Because then I brought up Syria, and I said --

Q Afterwards?

THE PRESIDENT: Very shortly there afterward. And I said, there's so much killing in Syria. We got to solve Syria. We've got to solve Ukraine. And you know, I've always said -- and I'm not just talking about Russia -- we're a lot better off -- like it's a good thing that I have a good relationship with President Xi. It's a good thing I have a good relationship with every one of them -- Modi -- you saw that. Every single one of them of all 19 -- there's 20 with us. All 19, I have a great relationship with.

More on the Visit to France and Trade:

So we're doing well. I mean, we're doing well and we're having a good time. Now what we'll do is we'll go celebrate with the President of France -- we have a good relationship -- open up a little trade with them. But it's got to be fair trade. I mean, every deal we have is bad. It's got to be fair trade.

I mean, the European Union, as an example -- I'm all for the European Union, but we have things that we can barely sell into the European Union. They're very protectionist. And we're not. And you have to be reciprocal.

To me, the word reciprocal is a beautiful word. Because people can say, we don't like a border tax or we don't like this or we don't like that. But what they can't say is that, if you're selling a motorcycle and they're coming into your country and not paying tax, and they're going into another country and paying 100 percent tax, people understand that's not fair. So we say we make it reciprocal.

More on President Putin and Russia, and on energy:

Q Do you think you'll invite Putin to the White House?

THE PRESIDENT: I would say yes, yeah. At the right time. I don't think this is the right time, but the answer is yes I would. Look, it's very easy for me to say absolutely, I won't. That's the easy thing for me to do, but that's the stupid thing to do. Let's be the smart people not the stupid people. The easiest thing for me to tell you is that I would never invite him. We will never ever talk to Russia. That all of my friends in Congress will say, oh he's so wonderful, he's so wonderful. Folks, we have perhaps the second most powerful nuclear country in the world. If you don't have dialogue, you have to be fools. Fools. It would be the easiest thing for me to say to Maggie and all of you, I will never speak to him, and everybody would love me. But I have to do what's right.

And, by the way, I only want to make great deals with Russia. Remember this, I have built up -- we're getting $57 billion more for the military. Hillary was going to cut the military. I'm a tremendous fracker, coal, natural gas, alternate energy, wind -- everything, right? But I'm going to produce much much more energy than anyone else who was ever running for office. Ever. We're going to have clean coal, and Hillary wasn't. Hillary was going to stop fracking. She was going to stop coal totally. Hey, in West Virginia I beat her by 42 points. Remember, she went and sat with the miners and they said get the hell out of here. So, I was going to -- if Hillary got in, your energy prices right now would be double. You'd be doing no fracking. You'd be doing practically no fossil fuels.

So Putin, everything I do is the exact opposite. I don't believe -- in fact, the one question that I didn't ask him that I wish I did -- but we had so many other things going, and really the ceasefire was a very complicated talk, it was a very important talk to me because I wanted to see if we could start a ceasefire.

***

Now, why does that affect Russia? Because Russia makes its money through selling of oil, and we've got underneath us more oil than anybody, and nobody knew it until five years ago. And I want to use it. And I don't want that taken away by the Paris Accord. I don't want them to say all of that wealth that the United States has under its feet, but that China doesn't have and that other countries don't have, we can't use. So now we no longer have the advantage. We have a tremendous advantage. We have more natural resources under our feet than any other country. That's a pretty big statement. Ten years ago, five years ago even, you couldn't make that statement. We're blessed. I don't want to give it up. I don't want to say oh, okay, we won't use it. But think of it. So, if Hillary is there, you're going to have a far less amount of fuel. Therefore, energy prices will be much, much higher. That's great for Russia.

So, the next time I'm with Putin, I'm going to ask him: who were you really for? Because I can't believe that he would have been for me. Me. Strong military, strong borders -- but he cares less about the borders -- but strong military, tremendous. We're going to be an exporter of fuel this year. We're going to be exporting. What was the first thing I signed when I got in? The Keystone Pipeline, and the Keystone Pipeline goes from Canada all the way through our country right into the Gulf, and the ships are there to take it all over and compete with Russia.

More on Energy:

The first thing I signed, the first day, was the Keystone Pipeline. That first * was the Keystone and the Dakota Access Pipeline -- also Dakota Access. Now, what does that mean? Dakota Access takes it to the Pacific. Who do they compete with? Russia. Hillary would have never signed -- that was with the reservation -- she would have never signed it. I was given great credit for that one. That was a tough one. First day. It's also 48,000 jobs between both of them. The other one I signed, that was the Keystone. That was dead. That was dead for two years. It was never going to happen. I revived it on day one. You know, you'll check, please check it. I have to be exactly accurate. They'll say, oh I wasn't totally accurate. But that goes to the Gulf, right? Competes with Russia.

More on Energy and Russia:

THE PRESIDENT: So now oil is getting to be record low -- and gas -- because we're producing so much. That means Russia -- and you know Russia *** is having a little hard time because it has come down so much.

On Russia sanctions:

Q But you wouldn't sign a new sanctions bill if it passes the House?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm not talking about new, I'm talking about the old sanctions. Wait, we got to get this right. Ready? I think I said it right but just in case. We have very heavy sanctions on Russia right now. I would not and have never even thought about taking them off. Somebody said, Donald Trump wants to -- I don't want to take them off.

Q Putin didn't raise that with you?

THE PRESIDENT: He never raised it. We did, I think, talk about the sanctions that Congress wants to pass, but it was very brief. Much of it was talked about Ukraine. Look, we talked about the elections. We talked about Ukraine and Syria. Not in that order. We talked about Syria and Ukraine. But I will just tell you, I didn't say this to him. We didn't talk about this aspect of it. I would never take the sanctions off until something is worked out to our satisfaction and everybody's satisfaction in Syria and in Ukraine.

I saw a report and I read a report that Trump wants to take off the sanctions. I've made a lot of money. I've made great deals. That's what I do. Why would I take sanctions off without getting anything?

On allegations of collusion with Russia:

THE PRESIDENT: What pressure? I didn't -- I did nothing. Hey, now it's shown there's no collusion, there's no obstruction, there's no nothing. Honestly, the whole thing, it is really a media witch hunt. It's been a media witch hunt. And it's bad for the country. You know, when you talk about Russia, if Russia actually did whatever they want to do, they got to be laughing, because look at what happens -- how much time. . . .

They feel it's a witch hunt, the people. There are a lot of people. And those people vote. They don't stay home because it's drizzling. We proved that. But every single party chairman said that my base is substantially stronger than it was in November. That's a big compliment. That's a big compliment. And I feel it.

And I think what's happening is, as usual, the Democrats have played their card too hard on the Russia thing, because people aren't believing it. It's a witch hunt and they understand that. When they say "treason" -- you know what treason is? That's Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for giving the atomic bomb, okay? But what about all the congressmen, where I see the woman sitting there surrounded by -- in Congress.

So I think it's a good thing. When Hillary Clinton spent her ads -- you know, she spent almost 100 percent of her ads on anti-Donald Trump ads. You know that. Every ad was an anti ad. When the election came, nobody knew what she stood for.

I heard tonight, and I saw tonight, and I read tonight that they're making a big mistake. And I a lot of the Democrats feel -- they say, we're putting all our money into this Russia stuff and it's making Trump stronger. Because my people and the people that support me, who are incredible people, those people are angry because they feel it's being unfair and a witch hunt.

***

END

10:15 P.M. EDT

On Don Jr, POTUS was asked if as a father he supported Don Jr. being willing to testify.

"I think if he wants to," Trump said. He mentioned that h had seen something about her being in congress recently talking to members. "She had meetings with various people. So it's the same thing."

He said the press had been unfair and said of the meeting that "they talked about the adoption stuff which was actually a big thing at the time but nothing happened." He addd, "In fact maybe it was mentioned at some point," but then when asked if he had been told that it was about Hillary Clinton and dirt against her he said no.

POTUS was asked about Kelly suggesting to CHC that DoJ has say on what happens to DACA.

"It's a decision that I make and it's a decision that's very very hard to make. I really understand the situation now," POTUS said. "I understand the situation very well. What I'd like to do is a comprehensive immigration plan. But our country and political forces are not ready yet."

He added, "There are two sides of a story. It's always tough."

Link:
Excerpts of transcripts between Trump and press on Air Force One - CNN

Cloe Gouilpain, Louis Marcodini and Dorian Ghiotti sit on the banks of Canal St Martin in Paris's 10th arrondissement in Paris. Saphora Smith / NBC News

Earlier this year Trump offended the people of Paris by implying the terrorist attacks had changed the city. The president told a rally in Washington in February that his friend Jim, who used to love Paris, no longer goes because Paris is no longer Paris.

At the time, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo responded by tweeting a photo of Mickey and Minnie Mouse with the caption: To @realdDonaldTrump and his friend Jim, in @LaTourEiffel we celebrate the dynamism and the spirit of openness of #Paris with Mickey & Minnie.

Back in the northern neighborhood of BarbsRochechouart, Mohammed Cheikh said he hoped Trump's exposure to Bastille Day might change Trump's position on the wars in Syria and Iraq.

"I doubt he's ever heard of July 14," said the 32-year-old, who works in security. "But if he gets the 14 of July he should understand the importance of peace and armistice and if he gets that, he should know he needs to end the wars in Syria and in Iraq."

Others in the city of lights were more apathetic.

Christelle Castet, 35, who was sculpting a pot in a workshop near Gare de lEst: "I really dont care that hes here."

A Street Art work shows U.S. President Donald Trump and President Emmanuel Macron on Paris Climate Agreement in Paris, France on June 13, 2017. Alain Apaydin / Sipa via AP Images

Read more here:
Parisians Resigned to Hosting President Donald Trump in France for Bastille Day - NBCNews.com

He was great, Mr. Trump told people about his sons appearance on Sean Hannitys Fox News program the previous evening.

A New York Times investigative reporter takes you through the twists and turns of uncovering the details of a secretive meeting.

By midday Wednesday, the mercurial president was telling friends and advisers that he believed the situation had improved. I think this is getting better, he said to one group of aides, hours before he was set to take off for a trip to France to mark Bastille Day.

The Trump family, friends said, always draws closer under intense pressure. But Mr. Trump bridles at the idea that his children, who have not spent years in the public spotlight like him, are now facing unrelenting scrutiny over what he believes to be a manufactured scandal by the news media.

While Donald Trump Jr. has been on the firing line, the meeting with Ms. Veselnitskaya could arguably be a bigger distraction for Mr. Kushner. As a senior adviser to the president, he is involved in several of the administrations most sensitive foreign-policy issues, from China to the Middle East peace process. His involvement in the meeting led reporters to ask the White House whether he still held his security clearance.

Also under scrutiny is how forthcoming Mr. Kushner was with his father-in-law about the nature of the June meeting. He met with Mr. Trump to discuss the issue, according to advisers to the White House, around the time he updated his federal disclosure form to include Ms. Veselnitskayas name on a list of foreign contacts that Mr. Kushner was required to submit to the F.B.I. to obtain a security clearance.

Mr. Kushner supplemented the list of foreign contacts three times, adding more than 100 names, people close to him said.

Mr. Kushner played down the significance of the meeting and omitted significant details, according to two people who were briefed on the exchange. They said Mr. Kushner informed the president that he had met with a Russian foreign national, and that while he had to report the name, it would not cause a problem for the administration.

Another official said Mr. Kushners assurance to the president was based on the fact that nothing came of the June meeting.

Donald Trump Jr. received an email on June 3, 2016, promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. The information was described as being part of Russia's support for his fathers presidential bid. His reply? I love it.

In an interview with Reuters, Mr. Trump said he had not been told last summer that his son was meeting with a Russian lawyer. No, that I didnt know until a couple of days ago when I heard about this, he said.

Mr. Kushner, colleagues say, has kept up a regular work schedule, meeting on Wednesday with Gary D. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, to discuss the administrations impending moves on trade. He is also in touch with Jason D. Greenblatt, Mr. Trumps Middle East envoy, who is in Israel for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. And next week, he plans to take part in a high-level economic dialogue with China.

Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka, are not accompanying Mr. Trump to Paris. Instead they plan to attend the annual media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, sponsored by the investment firm Allen & Company. An official said the couple would pay for their own travel and lodgings.

Mr. Kushner is expected to cooperate in the next several weeks with the Senate and House Intelligence Committees that are looking into Russias intervention in the American election and any possible collusion with the Trump campaign. He will have to devote some time to preparing for those appearances with his team of lawyers.

Colleagues of Mr. Kushner said he had remained focused and upbeat despite the drumbeat of negative headlines a trait they ascribe to his experience dealing with the legal troubles of his father, Charles Kushner, who was convicted of tax evasion and witness tampering.

But even as the White House labors to present a business-as-usual facade, there is evidence that Mr. Trumps family will be drawn deeper into the investigation. Two officials familiar with the Senate Intelligence Committees investigation said the panel was now planning to expand its inquiry to include Donald Trump Jr.

The officials said Mr. Trumps shifting reasons for the meeting and his acknowledgment that he was lured by the promise of Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton had forced the Senate panel to begin examining his role in the campaign, and any contacts he may have had with Russians.

The first step, officials said, would be for Senate investigators to sit down with Mr. Trump. The Senate panel might also request that he turn over emails and financial records from any dealings with Russia, which they have done with other subjects of their investigation.

At the same time, Mr. Kushner now looms larger in the Senate investigation, the officials said. Its investigators concluded as early as March that his meetings during the transition with the Russian ambassador and a Russian banker tied to the Kremlin warranted further scrutiny.

For the president, friends said, the pain of seeing his son ensnared in the Russia scandal was real. In part, that is because, of all his children, he has had the most complicated relationship with Donald Jr., who was a teenager when his parents divorced and did not speak to his father for a year.

Friends who have known the Trump family for many years said they believed Donald Trump Jr., in setting up the meeting, was only focused on trying to help and even impress his father with information that could help his campaign.

President Trump has been equally protective of his other children. After Ivanka came under criticism for taking her fathers seat in Germany, he defended her in a tweet and cited Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. When I left Conference Room for short meetings with Japan and other countries, he said, I asked Ivanka to hold seat. Very standard. Angela M agrees!

Nobody offered a more passionate defense of Ivanka than Donald Trump Jr.

Look at the attacks on Ivanka, he told Mr. Hannity on Tuesday night. If she was anyone elses daughter, shed be a feminist icon this incredible, brilliant, well-spoken woman. And they try to belittle her at every chance. Its really sad.

For me as a family member, as her brother, as her older brother, you know you do take it personally and it does make you want to fight back, he added. What we are is we are fighters and they dont take well to that, either, because most people dont like being called on their stuff.

Peter Baker and Matthew Rosenberg contributed reporting from Washington, and Jo Becker from New York.

A version of this article appears in print on July 13, 2017, on Page A14 of the New York edition with the headline: Glare on Trump Family Turns Political Personal.

View post:
With Glare on Trump Children, Political Gets Personal for President - New York Times

(WASHINGTON) A California Democrat filed an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump Wednesday in a longshot bid to remove the president from office.

Rep. Brad Sherman accuses Trump of obstructing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, in part by firing former FBI Director James Comey.

Sherman acknowledges that filing the article is "the first step on a very long road."

"But if the impulsive incompetency continues, then eventually many, many months from now Republicans will join the impeachment effort," Sherman said in a statement.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Sherman's resolution was "utterly and completely ridiculous" and "a political game at its worst."

Sherman's effort has little chance of success in the Republican-led House. Sherman doesn't even have the backing of many fellow Democrats.

Democratic leaders have distanced themselves from the efforts to impeach Trump, believing it serves only to energize the president's supporters. Sherman's resolution has one co-sponsor, fellow Democrat Al Green of Texas.

Sherman filed the article a day after the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., acknowledged that he met with a Russian lawyer during the campaign. An intermediary for the lawyer promised damaging information from the Russian government about Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr. said he received no information about Clinton at the meeting.

The president has questioned his own intelligence agencies and whether the Russians actually interfered in the election. However, federal authorities say they have definitive evidence that the Kremlin meddled in the U.S. presidential election.

See the article here:
The First Attempt to Impeach Donald Trump Just Got Underway - TIME

We took a closer look at Rob Goldstone, a British publicist who brokered the meeting, and his client Emin Agalarov, a Russian pop star. Our reporter discussed unearthing Mr. Goldstones emails on our podcast The Daily.

The email leaks show how we have dangerously overcommitted to this form of communication, our tech columnist writes.

Christopher Wray, Mr. Trumps nominee for F.B.I. director, pledged to resist pressure from the White House during his confirmation hearing. Meanwhile, Democrats are going to try to block the Republican health care bill by exploiting procedural rules.

_____

Mr. Trump arrived in Paris earlier this morning. Alongside President Emmanuel Macron, he will watch as American troops participate in the Bastille Day parade tomorrow.

The visit could help secure Mr. Macrons position as Mr. Trumps primary contact in Western Europe. Before Mr. Trumps arrival, Mr. Macron will host Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany for talks.

_____

Kurdish fighters in Syria this week announced the deaths of foreign combatants on the outskirts of Raqqa, the Islamic State stronghold.

We traced the journey of one of them, Robert Grodt, above, from the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York to Syrias civil war.

Drone video from Mosul shows that the battle to seize Iraqs second-largest city isnt over. In a separate video, we look at what is known about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic States leader, who is said to have been killed.

_____

At Wimbledon, Venus Williams, above, will take on Johanna Konta in the semifinals, and Garbie Muguruza will face Magdalena Rybarikova.

Among the men, Roger Federer is the only member of the so-called Big Four still playing, after the elimination of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.

In the Tour de France, Marcel Kittel of Germany won his fifth stage. And in soccer news, Dani Alves is moving to Paris St.-Germain.

Theres a new breed of employers: They build a team, do the job and say goodbye.

A court in Paris rejected a French 1.12-billion-euro tax bill for Google, arguing that its Irish European headquarters could not be taxed in France.

In the U.S., tech companies united to protest the governments plan to scrap net neutrality rules.

Moon Express hopes to launch a soda-can-shaped lander to the moon this year, a prelude to its regular delivery service to space.

Heres a snapshot of global markets.

Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, the enormously influential Brazilian ex-president, was convicted of corruption and sentenced to nearly 10 years. [The New York Times]

In Poland, lawmakers voted for a bill that would give them greater say in the appointment of judges, a move that critics say infringes on judicial independence. [Reuters]

In Britain, Prime Minister Theresa Mays plan to withdraw from Euratom, the European treaty governing nuclear energy, is facing stiff opposition. [The New York Times]

Ms. Mays government is expected today to release its Repeal Bill, with which it seeks to achieve a smooth departure from the European Union. [Reuters]

In a medical milestone, a gene-altering leukemia therapy got an unanimous vote of confidence from a U.S. regulatory panel. [The New York Times]

Lawmakers in Malta voted 66 to 1 to legalize same-sex marriage. [The New York Times]

The chief executive of Swedens biggest security firm was falsely declared bankrupt after his identity was stolen by hackers, who applied for a loan in his name. [Bloomberg]

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.

A few minutes of meditation a day can help athletes, and everyone else, withstand stress.

Does your phone run out of power midday? Choose your charger wisely.

For something light, go with an herb and radish salad with feta and walnuts.

True bilingualism is a relatively rare and beautiful thing. Its worth it, but its a lot of work, a psychologist said.

A dad look has suddenly become stylish: the tucked-in T-shirt.

10000 Gestures, a French choreographers ambitious new piece, debuts at the Manchester International Festival today.

Finally, a writer reflects on his discovery of the Greek island of Sifnos, and why its best to avoid tourist hot spots.

Recent reports that the Pentagon spent millions to license a camouflage pattern that replicates lush forests to be worn in largely arid Afghanistan got us thinking about the famous design.

As it turns out, the word camouflage appeared in The Times for the first time 100 years ago.

The concept of disguising matriel and soldiers to blend in with their surroundings originated in the 1800s and was further developed during World War I.

In May 1917, a New York lawyer who visited the French battlefront wrote about it for The Timess Magazine section.

The French were among the first to use camouflage on a wide scale, with a unit made up of artists known as camoufleurs. In August 1917, the U.S. Army issued its own call for enlistment in a camouflage force, seeking young men who are looking for special entertainment in the way of fooling Germans.

Camouflage later became common in art and fashion. A 2007 exhibit at Londons Imperial War Museum noted its links to Cubism. (Picasso exclaimed upon seeing a camouflaged cannon in Paris: It was us who created that.)

The artist Andy Warhol also used it, substituting bright colors for earth tones, which removed the military symbolism but retained the notion of hiding.

Karen Zraick contributed reporting.

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