It seems the Trump-Macron bromance doesn’t run very deep.
In an unusual address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron laid out a sweeping indictment of President Trump’s worldview — all without mentioning Trump by name.
Macron, widely considered to be Trump’s favorite European leader, laid out positions sharply at odds with Trump’s positions on the Iran nuclear deal (Macron said the US should stay in it), climate change (Macron said it was real and needed to be fought), free trade (Macron warned against protectionism), and international cooperation more broadly.
“We can choose isolationism, withdrawal, and nationalism. This is an option. It can be tempting to us as a temporary remedy to our fears,” Macron said. “But closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world.”
Macron’s thinly veiled criticism of his host stood in stark contrast to the chummy rapport he displayed with Trump on Tuesday, when the two leaders hugged, kissed, held hands and praised each other effusively during public appearances. In one moment that immediately went viral, Trump even brushed dandruff off Macron’s suit.
The French leader’s decision to go after Trump’s positions — even though his remarks were draped in repeated praise for the US president — was an especially audacious gesture in light of the fact that Macron is in Washington for a “state visit,” a reception that includes elaborate ceremonies and signals a special relationship between the US and another country.
Macron got some of his loudest rounds of applause when he took Trump to task over his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
“Let us face it, there is no planet B,” he said to laughter and clapping. Then, in a moment that could represent wish projection as much as reality, Macron said that he was “sure one day the United States will come back and join the Paris agreement.”
In potentially the most momentous part of his speech, Macron cautioned the US against pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and pledged that France would not withdraw from it.
“We should not abandon it without having something substantial and more substantial instead,” he said. “France will not leave the [Iran deal], because we signed it.”
Trump has threatened to reimpose sanctions on Iran — effectively pulling out of the deal — on May 12 unless Europe helps “fix the terrible flaws” in the agreement. The Trump administration is in talks with the Europeans, who are desperate to make sure Trump doesn’t pull out.
Macron also signaled that he was open to working with the US on making the deal stronger to accommodate Trump’s concerns about Iran’s behavior throughout the Middle East and continued development of ballistic missiles.
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