White House says Trump motorcade at WWI cemetery would have disrupted traffic

President Trump did not visit a World War I cemetery in northern France this weekend as his motorcade would have disrupted traffic in Paris and the suburbs for hours, said Fox Sunday. News an official of the administration.

Trump was to lay a wreath and observe a moment of silence Saturday at the American cemetery of Aisne-Marne, located about 60 km northeast of Paris. However, bad weather immobilized the president's helicopter and the official told Fox News that there was no backup plan for traveling by car.

"President Trump did not want to cause this kind of unexpected disruption to the city and its people," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. She also noted that the trip to Aisne-Marne took two and a half hours by car.

TRUMP TAKES HEAT ON A TRIP TRAVELED AT THE CEMETERY IN FRANCE

The President spent much of Saturday at the residence of the US ambassador after a meeting and lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump was in Paris for events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

The White House Chief of Staff, retired General John Kelly, attended the cemetery ceremony in place of Trump; Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joe Dunford; and several members of the White House staff. The Battle of Belleau Wood was a crucial conflict in the war and a pivotal meeting in the history of the Marine Corps.

The Marine Corps and the White House Military Bureau make the decision to defeat Marine One, the president's helicopter, due to bad weather. This recommendation is then presented to the White House in collaboration with the Secret Service, according to a secret service official. .

Trump was criticized for not going to the cemetery by former White House officials David Frum and Ben Rhodes, as well as Nicholas Soames, a grandson of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Paris was covered with clouds and dripping rain almost all day Saturday.

On Sunday, Trump attended an event scheduled to pay tribute to the victims of the American War in an American cemetery just outside Paris.

John Roberts, Fox News, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.