Global pivot from Biden to Trump sealed with Macron’s invite to Notre Dame

French President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to President-elect Donald Trump to the grand reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral marks the end of the Biden era and signals that the world is focused on courting the incoming U.S. leader with sharp elbows.

The coveted invite arrived days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to talk over Mr. Trump’s tariff threat. The president-elect is also using his social media thumbs to issue edicts over foreign matters such as Hamas’ hostage-taking and a planned Japanese takeover of U.S. Steel.

The developments overshadowed Mr. Biden’s historic visit to Angola on Tuesday to promote a major rail project. The departing president has been isolated by Democratic attacks for pardoning his son Hunter Biden of gun and tax evasion convictions and any other crimes he committed in the past 11 years.

Mr. Trump’s trip to Paris for the Saturday reopening will put him among roughly 50 heads of state and thousands of VIPs. It is his first trip abroad since winning the election.

“Trump is the president-elect, and in approximately 45 days, he’s in charge. I suppose this is the first, most prominent move away from Biden,” said Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, a professor and chair of political science at the University of North Texas.

Mr. Macron’s catering to Mr. Trump’s ego and status is viewed as a savvy move after their relationship from 2017 to 2021 teetered between cordial expressions of pageantry and stern handshakes.

French newspaper Le Monde called the invite a “diplomatic coup” for Mr. Macron.

Announcing his acceptance of the invitation, Mr. Trump called the cathedral a “magnificent and historic” edifice.

“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!” Mr. Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.

Mr. Macron has characterized the cathedral’s restoration as a monumental human achievement and suggested it transcends politics.

“Macron and Trump may not agree on a number of policies, but if they can agree that the restoration of Notre Dame is a beautiful and impressive human accomplishment, perhaps those inevitable disagreements can be tinged with much less rancor and incivility,” Mr. Eshbaugh-Soha said. “And I’m no expert on presidential personality, but it sure seems like this sort of visit — the pomp and circumstance and historic nature of the reopening — is exactly the sort of thing that Trump enjoys. Maybe Macron’s intent is to stroke Trump’s ego with the hope of future payoffs.”

First lady Jill Biden will represent the current administration during her nation-hopping trip this week, but Mr. Biden is increasingly being cast as an afterthought.

He made a long-awaited trip to Africa to shore up the Angolan-U.S. relationship and meet with President Joao Lourenco, but his historic visit was overshadowed by the shocking declaration of martial law in South Korea.

In a speech, Mr. Biden retraced how people were brought from Angola to the U.S. in chains during the slavery era before the countries wrote a new chapter.

“It’s a story of mutual respect and mutual progress. That’s the history that brings me here. The first American president ever to visit Angola,” he said to applause.

Issues back home dogged the president. When he stepped out of his motorcade to greet Mr. Lourenco, Mr. Biden ignored shouted questions about his son’s pardon.

Mr. Trump, meanwhile, is putting his imprint on global crises and business deals while Mr. Biden keeps his hand on the tiller for another month and a half.

The president-elect renewed his pledge to block the sale of U.S. Steel to a Japanese company, signaling that foreign buyers should think twice before closing a deal in the waning days of the current administration. Mr. Biden also opposes the sale.

“I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Mr. Trump wrote. “As President, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!”

A day earlier, he stepped into conflict in the Gaza Strip by ordering Hamas militants to release hostages by Jan. 20 or be “hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America.”

If foreign leaders want to ignore Mr. Trump until January, he is making it difficult. Last week, he threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Mexico and Canada if they don’t rein in illegal immigration and drug trafficking, prompting a mix of responses from U.S. neighbors.

Mexican leaders said they wanted to cooperate with the incoming Trump administration but warned that tariffs would devastate the highly integrated automobile industries in both nations. President Claudia Sheinbaum suggested that fentanyl flows across the border because American users are driving demand from Mexican cartels.

Mr. Trudeau, meanwhile, is taking the high road. The Canadian leader, who had a fraught relationship with Mr. Trump during the Republican’s first term, went to Mr. Trump’s Florida estate and smiled for photos after talking about trade.

For his troubles, Mr. Trump reportedly said Canada could become the “51st state” if it can’t handle his tariff threats. The quip sparked nervous laughter and banter about whether the state would be liberal or conservative.

Mr. Biden, who took pride in shoring up alliances, has been left to retrace his accomplishments. On Tuesday, he said the U.S. invested $3 billion in Angola and worked with American lines to expand tourism to Africa “so you don’t have to fly to Paris to get here.”

“Although,” he said, “Paris is pretty nice.”