French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen Spotted At Trump Tower
Pool
French National Front leader Marine Le Pen was seen having coffee with three men at the Trump-branded cafe in Trump Tower Thursday morning, according to pool reports.
Le Pen — known for her anti-immigration, and anti-refugee policies — declined to answer whether she was there to meet with the president-elect or if she was visiting in a professional or personal capacity.
The man sitting to her right in the picture above is George Lombardi, a member of Citizens for Trump. The man directly across from Le Pen is her partner and vice president of the French National Front, Louis Aliot. It is unclear who the third man is.
Le Pen, a far-right politician, is expected to launch her presidential campaign next month. She is currently leading polls for the presidency in France.
Trump's spokesperson Hope Hicks said Le Pen "is not meeting with anyone from our team," according to a pool report.
Le Pen's unannounced visit to New York is a "private visit," her chief of staff David Rachline told Bloomberg. Rachline said it is not on La Pen's "public agenda," when asked if she is meeting with Trump or the transition team. "We do not communicate about private visits."
Le Pen supported Trump during the presidential campaign.
“Between him and Hillary Clinton, it is clear that I would choose Donald Trump," she said in July, adding that Trump "is a free man, not beholden to Wall Street, markets or financial lobbies, or even his own party."