Macron riled at Trump’s ‘good shape’ comment
washington — President Donald Trump was captured complimenting the French president’s wife’s appearance on Thursday as he toured a famous Paris landmark.
Video footage posted on the French government’s official Facebook page showed Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and their wives chatting after their tour of the museums at Les Invalides.
As they were saying their goodbyes, Trump turned to Brigitte Macron and gestured towards her body. “You know, you’re in such good shape,” Trump said, before repeating the observation to her husband. “Beautiful,” he added.
But feminists and President Macron have denounced that attention as sexist, arguing that nobody would blink an eye if he were the older spouse. The Macrons’ age difference is identical to that of Donald and Melania Trump. —
paris — French President Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump marked France’s national day together on Friday at a military parade which clearly delighted the US president and showcased the warming relations between the two leaders.
Macron invited Trump to be his guest of honour at the Bastille Day celebration, which featured French and American troops marching down the fabled Champs-Elysees in Paris, opening to a flypast by two US F-22 stealth fighters and climaxing in a roaring pass by French jets.
Trump, 71, was frequently on his feet and applauding, while he and Macron again looked at ease in each other’s company, leaning in to chat and touching each other on the shoulder.
“Nothing will ever separate us,” Macron said during a speech at the end of parade, adding that Trump’s presence was “the sign of a friendship across the ages” between their countries.
The Paris parade this year marked the centenary of the United States entering World War I in 1917 and featured 63 planes, 29 helicopters, 241 horses and 3,720 soldiers, including US troops dressed in the brown uniform and gaiters of the Great War. “It was a great honor to represent the United States at the magnificent #BastilleDay parade,” Trump wrote on Twitter after his departure, which featured another long and muscular handshake between the men. “Congratulations President @EmmanuelMacron!” he added.
But the celebrations were also tinged with mourning, one year on since a massacre in the Mediterranean city of Nice where a man drove a truck into a crowd, killing 86 people.
Macron, 39, rolled out the red carpet for Trump’s two-day visit, hoping to improve relations and persuade the US president to change his mind about withdrawing from the global Paris agreement on climate change.
Trump said cryptically after their talks on Thursday that “something could happen with respect to the Paris accord... but we will talk about that over the coming period of time”.
Trump had appeared isolated at a meeting of world leaders last weekend in Germany over his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris global climate change agreement and his protectionist stance on trade.
The warm body language between him and Macron seemed at odds with broader concerns about the transatlantic relationship since Trump’s election victory in November last year. The two men enjoyed
It was a great honor to represent the united States at the magnificent #Bastilleday parade. Congratulations President @EmmanuelMacron! Donald Trump US President
a “dinner between friends” on Thursday at a Michelin-starred restaurant on the Eiffel Tower.
Joined by their wives Brigitte and Melania, they tucked into beef with truffle sauce and warm strawberry and yogurt sorbet, with one of the most celebrated views in the world as their backdrop.
Trump also said on Thursday that the bond between the US and France, as well as the friendship between him and Macron, was “unbreakable”.
Despite their differences on climate change and trade, the two leaders focused on their close cooperation on fighting the Daesh group in Syria and Iraq during their talks. —