DID MACRON KILL THE ‘TRUMANCE’?
WASHINGTON • French President Emmanuel Macron demanded climate change action and defended the Iran nuclear deal Wednesday in a pointed rebuke of Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy.
Addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress, he called on America to stay engaged in the world in a rebuttal of Trump’s isolationist instincts.
Macron said there was no “Planet B” as he predicted the United States will one day return to the Paris climate change agreement. The French leader also criticized Trump for wanting to rip up the Iran agreement, but agreed Tehran must never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.
On tariffs, he warned that abandoning free and fair trade would destroy jobs, increase prices and punish the middle classes. He also said global threats would spiral and the United Nations and NATO would be weaker if the U.S. stopped fighting for its values overseas.
“Today, the call we hear is the call of history,” Macron said in an emotive call to arms. “This is the time of determination and courage. What we cherish is at stake. What we love is in danger. We have no choice but to prevail and together we shall prevail.
But he warned: “We can choose isolationism. But closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world. If we decide to open our eyes wider, we will be much stronger.”
The speech ended a threeday U.S. state visit that has seen Macron reaffirm his position as the world leader with the closest personal relationship with Trump.
On climate change, he asked: “What is the meaning of our lives if we spend it destroying the future of our children?”
On the Iran nuclear deal, Macron pledged France would stay in the 2015 agreement and criticized Trump’s hints that he might withdraw.
He repeated Tuesday’s call for a wider deal to tackle Iran’s ballistic missile program and behaviour in Syria and Yemen as well as nuclear issues.
Macron repeatedly challenged Trump’s instinct to disengage from the world — a prominent foreign policy pledge of his 2016 election campaign.