Trump humiliates Macron: Donald does not greet French president outside White House…then makes him squeeze onto side of his Oval Office desk
Donald Trump appeared to humiliate French president Emmanuel Macron this afternoon when he failed to greet him on his arrival at the White House, and perched him by the side of his desk in the Oval Office.
Footage showed the French president pulling up in a black car before he was welcomed by White House Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley.
Meanwhile, images have revealed Macron was embarrassingly crammed onto the corner of Trump’s Oval Office desk, with the US president sitting spaciously in the middle.
Macron became the second European leader to meet Trump at the White House today, as the continent rallies its arguments in defense of Ukraine.
Trump sent shockwaves through Europe by criticising the Ukrainian president and claiming Ukraine started the war rather than Russia.
Before his visit, Macron said he would present Trump with arguments that it was not in his interests to bend to Moscow.
‘I will tell him: Deep down you cannot be weak in the face of President (Putin). It’s not you, it’s not what you’re made of and it’s not in your interests,’ he said during a social media question-and-answer session.
Donald Trump humiliated Emmanuel Macron after not greeting him outside the White House
Macron embarrassingly crammed onto the corner of Trump’s Oval Office desk, with the US president sitting spaciously in the middle
Macron is greeted by White House Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley, but not Trump
Macron arrives at the West Wing ahead of meetings with United States President Trump
Macron departs the West Wing to return to Blair House after meetings with President Trump at the White House
Macron walks with White House Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley
The two started the day on a conference call with G7 leaders on the day marking the third anniversary of the full Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He will be tag teamed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who will be at the White House on Thursday.
He previewed his case just ahead of Macron’s arrival, unveiling fresh sanctions on Moscow and saying that Trump had ‘changed the global conversation’ around Ukraine.
‘We must keep dialling up the economic pressure to get Putin to a point where he is ready not just to talk, but to make concessions,’ he said during a remote address to a gathering of Ukraine’s allies.
Aides later clarified that Starmer meant Trump had changed the conversation ‘for the better.’
The U.K. and France represent Europe’s nuclear powers. And their leaders have indicated they are ready to step up assistance to Ukraine, and stand up a European military force to protect a peace deal.
Trump also met the Polish president on the sidelines of a conservative conference on Saturday.
It illustrates the way Trump has at a stroke upended the U.S. position on Ukraine.
Where the Biden administration took pains to isolate Moscow and its autocratic leader Putin, Trump changed direction with a 90-minute phone to the Russian leader earlier this month.
Russian officials said they have already started preparations for a Trump-Putin summit.
European leaders, closer to the war than Trump, fear that Putin will get whatever he wants if American president pushes through a peace agreement without Ukrainians at the table at every step.
