WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump mocked French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife during a private lunch on Wednesday, criticizing NATO allies for not participating in the ongoing conflict against Iran, which has escalated tensions in the Middle East.
In a video briefly posted on the White House YouTube channel, Trump said, “We didn’t need them, but I asked anyway.” He singled out France, saying, “I call up France, Macron whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw.”
Trump was referring to a May 2025 news clip that appeared to show Brigitte Macron shoving the French president’s face during a trip to Vietnam. Macron later dismissed the video as part of a disinformation campaign.The US president continued, describing his conversation with Macron: “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 then mimicked a French accent to relay Macron’s alleged response: “‘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.’
”Trump also criticized NATO, calling it a “paper tiger,” and suggested that the alliance may not support the US in a major conflict. He added, “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,” without providing further details.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the United States “is going to have to reexamine” its relationship with NATO once the war against Iran concludes, signaling potential shifts in transatlantic defense policies.
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