U.S. President Donald Trump slammed his “publicity seeking” French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in an excoriating social media post overnight, saying “whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong.”
The Truth Social post was published while Trump was aboard Air Force One, as the presidential jet was departing Calgary to ferry him back to Washington from the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada. Trump had earlier announced he would leave the summit a day early, with the White House press secretary citing “what’s going on in the Middle East” as the reason.
Macron suggested to reporters at the G7 that Trump was leaving early to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, saying: “There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange.” The French president added that the “U.S. assured they will find a ceasefire and since they can pressure Israel, things may change.”
But Trump dismissed Macron’s comments.
“Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a ‘cease fire’ between Israel and Iran. Wrong!” Trump said in his social media post. “He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay Tuned!”
Earlier, Trump had ominously said: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
Trump’s swipe at Macron is a setback for the EU’s attempts to engage with the U.S. president. Macron has positioned himself as one of Europe’s leading Trump whisperers over their almost decade-long relationship, which dates back to Trump’s first term in office.
Trump praised Macron’s intelligence during last year’s U.S. election campaign — though he also said the French president would “take the shirt off your back if you didn’t know what you were doing.”
This story has been updated.
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