Biden welcomes Macron to White House for state dinner

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — President Joe Biden welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House Thursday, with the two reaffirming their nations’ longstanding and strong alliance and discussing Ukraine and the economy.

Macron was to be the guest of honor among about 400 at the White House’s first state dinner in three years.

“France and the United States have always stood together,” Biden said.

“When we look at our common history, this friendship always prevails,” Macron agreed.

In France, Macron is facing mounting pressure due to soaring energy prices linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But in a joint press conference after a three-hour closed door meeting, Biden and Macron said they stand with Ukraine and promised to aid in its defeat of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Putin severely miscalculated this war,” Biden said.

While he has maintained a more open line of communication with Putin, Macron said he will not pressure Ukraine to cave.

“We will never urge the Ukrainians to make a compromise which will not be acceptable for them … because it will never build a sustainable peace,” Macron said. “We have to respect Ukrainians about how to negotiate.”

Biden said he will continue to call on Putin end the war peacefully.

The two leaders also discussed concerns that new clean energy policies in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act could hurt European allies.

“We need to resynchronize,” Macron said. “We want to succeed together, not one against the other.”

Biden assured Macron that the U.S. would tweak details to ensure the economies of both countries benefit from clean energy innovation.

“We’re going to continue to create manufacturing jobs in America but not at the expense of Europe,” Biden said.