Trump Calls French President Macron “Very, Very Nasty” Over NATO Spat
Donald Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron have a unique relationship among world leaders. Macron seems to have picked up that Trump often tries to macho his way through meetings with heads of state, hence the bizarre jerking handshakes and claiming he would rush a school shooter, unarmed. And Macron has tried to take advantage of that, showing off military parades for Trump and [attempting to out-handshake him.
On Tuesday, in his first appearance at the NATO summit in London, Trump lashed out at Macron over the French president's criticism of NATO last month. In an interview with The Economist, Macron lamented the "brain death" of NATO, saying that the member states can no longer rely on the U.S. as an ally. At a one-on-one meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump called those comments "very, very nasty" and "very disrespectful."
"You just can’t go around making statements like that about NATO," Trump said, adding, "I would say that nobody needs NATO more than France. That’s why I think when France makes a statement like they made about NATO, that’s a very dangerous statement for them to make."
This is an abrupt turnaround for Trump, whose attitude toward NATO has ranged from ambivalent to hostile in the past. Political commentator Jonathan Chait credited Macron with using the sort of reverse psychology one usually reserves for toddlers, writing in New York Magazine:
"Trump himself has called NATO 'obsolete,' openly questioned whether the U.S. would come to the defense of allies under attack (the very foundation of the alliance), and privately told aides on several occasions last year he wants to withdraw from the alliance. But the notion that somebody else would question NATO, and blame its demise on Trump, has enraged him."
The president has contradicted himself multiple times already at the NATO summit, contradicting himself numerous times while talking to reporters. He chose not to comment on the upcoming general election in the U.K., for example, saying "I don’t want to complicate it," before reversing himself and saying, "I think [current prime minister Boris Johnson] is very capable, and I think he’ll do a good job." And despite secretary of state Mike Pompeo saying that the U.S. supports protesters in Iran, Trump said that's not the case: "I don't want to comment on that. The answer is no." He reversed himself later, saying, "We do support them totally and have supported them from the beginning." He also waffled on the likelihood of a trade deal with China, causing the DOW to drop 450 points in a day.
When Trump finally appeared one-on-one with Macron in front of reporters, he reverted back to his attempts to out-macho the French president, taunting him with the release of ISIS prisoners, "Would you like some nice ISIS fighters?" he said. "I can give them to you." Macron, not looking at Trump, just said, "Let's be serious."
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Originally Appeared on GQ
