Trump mocks France’s world war losses, ridicules Macron’s approval rating in tweet storm
- US president also slammed French import rules, which he said add ‘big tariffs’ to American wines
US President Donald Trump continued to verbally spar on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron over his call for a “true European army”, reminding him of the US military’s role in helping France in the first and second world wars.
“Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the US, China and Russia,” Trump said in a morning tweet. “But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two – How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the US came along.”
In a radio interview last week, Macron called for a “true European army” so the continent can defend itself without relying on the United States – comments that first drew Trump’s ire as he flew to Paris on Friday for a centennial commemoration of the end of the first world war with other world leaders.
In the interview with French radio station Europe 1, Macron noted that Russia “is at our borders” and said he would like to “start a security dialogue” with the nation.
In another part of the interview, Macron said that Europe has to protect itself “with respect to China, Russia and even the United States”. But in that portion of the radio interview, Macron was referring to cybersecurity matters and fading multilateralism, rather than the military – a detail missing from many news wires stories.
