Donald Trump has drawn sharp criticism in France after mocking President Emmanuel Macron and his wife during remarks made at a private lunch, escalating tensions between the two allies amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.
The US president, speaking on Wednesday, April 1, reportedly ridiculed Macron while criticising NATO allies for not joining the war against Iran, at one point imitating a French accent and making personal comments about the French leader’s marriage.
“I call up France, Macron, whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw,” Trump said, in remarks that were later circulated in a video briefly posted on a White House YouTube channel. The comments sparked outrage across the French political spectrum, with both allies and critics of Macron condemning the tone of the remarks.
“Honestly, it’s not up to par,” said Yael Braun-Pivet, president of France’s lower house of parliament. “We are currently discussing the future of the world. Right now in Iran, this is having consequences for the lives of millions of people, people are dying on the battlefield, and we have a president who is laughing, who is mocking others,” she told franceinfo.
Manuel Bompard, coordinator of the France Unbowed party and a frequent critic of Macron, also denounced the comments.
“You are aware of the extent of my disagreements with the president, but for Donald Trump to speak to him like that and to speak of his wife in such a manner, I find that absolutely unacceptable,” he told BFMTV. French media also criticised the remarks, with conservative daily Le Figaro describing them as “Another controversial outburst from Donald Trump.”
In the same comments, Trump claimed he had asked France for support in the Gulf during the conflict, before mimicking what he suggested was Macron’s response.
“And I said, ‘Emmanuel, we’d love to have some help in the Gulf even though we’re setting records on knocking out bad people and knocking out ballistic missiles. We’d love to have some help. If you could, could you please send ships immediately,’” Trump said.
He then imitated a French accent, adding: “‘No no no, we cannot do that, Donald. We can do that after the war is won.’” “I said, ‘No no, I don’t need after the war is won Emmanuel,’” he added.
Trump also used the remarks to criticise NATO, describing the alliance as a “paper tiger” and suggesting it might not respond in the event of a major conflict. “So I learned about NATO, NATO won’t be there if we ever have the big one, you know what I mean by the big one,” he said, without elaborating.
The comments referenced a May 2025 video that appeared to show Brigitte Macron pushing the French president’s face during a trip to Vietnam, which Macron later dismissed as part of a disinformation campaign, saying the couple were “joking as we often do.”
The latest exchange comes amid broader strains in transatlantic relations, with US officials signalling a potential reassessment of NATO commitments following the conclusion of the war with Iran.
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