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Donald Trump mocks France for World War losses
The two men had seemed to make up with the usual forceful handshake in Paris and exchange of platitudes. The French side was keen to stress that Macron’s comments were taken out of context and misappropriated.
The bromance between President Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron is truly dead.
First thing in the US morning, the US president took another -- even more pointed -- crack at the French leader. He picked up again on the theme of a European army to defend the continent’s interests and took renewed offence. But in a particularly sharp jab, Trump implied that the French needed the US to rescue them from the Germans in both world wars.
Former Belgium prime minister Guy Verhofstadt was quick to respond to Trump on his own Twitter account. Trump’s latest attack was ill-timed, falling on the third anniversary of Paris terror attacks that killed more than 130 people and left hundreds more injured.
The tweet comes after Trump spent a weekend in Paris with other world leaders commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1. In an earlier tweet, the American president had called Macron’s suggestion “very insulting.”
The two men had seemed to make up with the usual forceful handshake in Paris and exchange of platitudes. The French side was keen to stress that Macron’s comments were taken out of context and misappropriated.
Trump seems to have merged two separate comments from Macron in a Nov. 6 interview with Europe1. Speaking about the economy in general and cyber in specific, he said a “sovereign” Europe needed to defend itself from “Russian, China, and even the U.S.”
Later, in response to a different question, he said Europe needed “a real army” to defend itself from threats in the east because it shouldn’t always rely on the U.S. This appeal has been a cornerstone of Macron’s foreign policy for over a year.
Even though Macron’s side has been at pains to clarify this, the truce between the two was short-lived. What became clear though is that whatever personal chemistry existed between the two, their policy differences have given way to open animosity.
“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism,” Macron said in an address to world leaders gathered for Armistice commemorations, with Trump sitting nearby.
His office later tweeted this part of the speech, which went on to say ‘by putting our own interests first, with no regard for others, we erase the very thing that a nation holds dearest, and the thing that keeps it alive: its moral values.”
It was seen as a direct rebuke of Trump’s ‘America First’ policies.
In a follow-up tweet an hour later, Trump still took aim at France. This time at its wine.
