Theresa May out in the cold as Emmanuel Macron gets nod for Donald Trump's first state visit

US President Donald Trump has chosen to host French President Emmanuel Macron for the first state visit of his presidency, CNN has reported.

Meanwhile, US-UK relations remain frosty following the cancellation of Trump's scheduled trip to London and confusion over whether Prime Minister Theresa May would meet the president at this week's World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Although many world leaders have been received by Trump in his first year in office, he is yet to accord any of them the pomp and circumstance of a state visit, which is considered the highest expression of friendly relations between the US and a foreign state.

The White House is yet to confirm the invitation, but details could be released this week during the WEF where the two presidents will meet.

In Davos, the two leaders will continue to build on what appears to be a complex relationship. Aside from two unusual handshakes, Macron and Trump have openly disagreed on the future of the Paris Climate Agreement and the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Nonetheless, Macron told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday (21 January) that he had a "direct" relationship with the US president and that they spoke regularly.

CNN reported that, according to his aides, Macron sees himself as Trump's interpreter in Europe, listening to the US president and finding common ground.

In July 2017, Macron hosted Trump and First Lady Melania Trump as guests of honour for the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris.

The US president was said to have been impressed by what he saw, especially the two-hour military parade on the Champs-Élysées. As detailed in a White House transcript of their September meeting at the UN, Trump told the French president, "It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France."

Trump said he was considering a military parade in Washington DC as part of the next Fourth of July celebrations.

While Macron appears to be going up in Trump's estimation, May and the UK seem to be going down, even though she was the first world leader to visit the president after his election victory.

Earlier this month, the president cancelled a February trip to open the new US embassy in London, calling the project a "bad deal". The decision came at the end of a tough year for US-UK relations, which included the president retweeting videos shared by far-right group Britain First and criticising London Mayor Sadiq Khan over his response to terror attacks in London.

On 20 January, the Telegraph reported that the White House and Downing Street confirmed Trump and May would meet on the margins of the WEF in Davos, despite earlier indications that they would not.

Though May will be relieved at the about-turn, it would seem that, for now at least, Macron is the European leader with the ear of the US president.