US President Donald Trump's latest comments and mimicry of French President Emmanuel Macron has sparked massive backlash.
Emmanuel Macron has said Donald Trump’s comments about his marriage were “neither elegant nor up to standard” after the US president put on an accent and mocked his French counterpart and his wife during a private lunch in Washington.
Arriving in South Korea on Thursday, Macron made clear his displeasure at Trump’s comments, which appeared briefly in a video on the White House YouTube channel before being removed.
Mimicking a French accent, Trump said Macron’s wife, Brigitte, “treats him extremely badly " Speaking about approaching France for help on Iran, Trump said, "We didn’t need them, but I asked anyway.”
He added, "I call up France, Macron—whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw.”
Relatively, Trump appeared to be referring to a May 2025 video that appeared to show Brigitte Macron pushing her husband’s face by her hand as they prepared to disembark from a plane on an official visit to Vietnam.
At the time Macron denied any “domestic dispute” with his wife, saying that "we were joking as we often do. ”
There was anger in France after Trump appeared to make fun of Macron and his wife during the lunch on Wednesday, guests at which included faith leaders and government figures in Washington, as he lambasted NATO allies for not joining the war against Iran.
At the lunch, Trump continued, "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 then appeared to attempt a French accent to give Macron’s alleged answer: "No, no, no, we cannot do that, Donald. We can do that after the war is won,’” he said. “I said, 'No, no, I don’t need after the war is won, Emmanuel,'" Trump said.
“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,” Trump added, without elaborating.
Macron told reporters, "I am not going to respond to them—they do not merit a response."
While there was anger in France after Trump appeared to make fun of Macron and his wife during the lunch on Wednesday, guests at which included faith leaders and government figures in Washington, as he lambasted NATO allies for not joining the war against Iran.
Politicians in France were outraged at Trump’s comments. “Honestly, it’s not up to par,” said Yaël Braun-Pivet, the centrist 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,” the politician told public broadcaster Franceinfo.
