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‘Make sure the door remains closed’: Trump’s advice to Emmanuel Macron after viral ‘slapping’ video
Emmanuel Macron has dismissed a widely circulated video that appears to show his wife Brigitte pulling his face as they disembarked from a plane in Vietnam.
President Donald Trump on Friday gave advice to French President Emmanuel Macron after a video showed Macron’s wife pushing him near an open plane door, saying, “Make sure the door remains closed.”
When asked about the incident during a press conference in the Oval Office, the United States President downplayed the matter, saying, “He's fine too. They're fine,” and adding, “They're two really good people. I know them very well.”
Emmanuel Macron has dismissed a widely circulated video that appears to show his wife Brigitte pulling his face as they disembarked from a plane in Vietnam at the start of a Southeast Asia tour.
Macron later told reporters that he and his wife Brigitte were simply joking when the moment was captured. The couple, married since 2007 after meeting at the high school where he was a student and she a teacher, were “squabbling and, rather, joking,” he said.
Macron added that the incident was being exaggerated into “a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.”
What happened during the Macrons’ arrival in Hanoi?
In the video showing the Macrons’ arrival in Hanoi, Vietnam, a uniformed official is seen opening the plane door, revealing President Macron inside, dressed in a suit and speaking to someone out of view.
Clad in red, Brigitte Macron was seen reaching out and pushing President Emmanuel Macron away, with one hand covering his mouth and part of his nose, and the other placed on his jaw. The French leader recoiled and turned his head aside. Realising he was on camera, he then smiled and gave a brief wave.
Later, the couple appeared at the top of the aircraft stairs. Macron offered his arm, but Brigitte did not take it. They walked down the carpeted steps side by side.
Macron said the reaction to the video highlighted the dangers of misinformation in the age of social media, pointing out that other recent videos had also been used to spread false stories about him.
With AP inputs
