Our colleagues from HuffPost USA They coined a term to define what took hold in the United States: “the”. It is correct, because the American president does not stop opening his mouth with little sense and less elegance. He doesn’t even care about offending his supposed allies. Now, he has done it again and France has been his target.
Specifically, the North American president has mocked his French counterpart, . He has regretted that “his wife treats him extremely badly”, statements with which he has made reference to the one inflicted on him in May 2025 by the first lady of France, , upon his arrival in Vietnam. Trump’s comments came at an inappropriate time, shortly before he addressed the nation to discuss the war in Iran and again criticized NATO countries for not getting involved in the offensive against Iran.
It was then, speaking of Western partners, that he regretted that Macron “has barely recovered” from that incident. Trump criticized Paris’ lack of support for his broadside in the Middle East and stressed that “it doesn’t need it.” “I called Macron, whose wife treats him terribly. He is still recovering from the right blow to the jaw,” were his exact words.
“I said, ‘Emmanuel, we would love to have some help in the Gulf even though we are breaking records by eliminating terrorists and shooting down ballistic missiles. We would love to have that help. Could you send ships right away?'” he said. Thus, without shame, imitating the French accent, he repeated the words of the liberal, who stated that “this could be done once the war has been won”, as Trump himself has clarified. “After the war I won’t need it, Emmanuel, I told him,” he noted.
Brigitte Macron, wife of the French president, and American first lady Melania Trump on March 25, 2026, at an event at the White House.
I don’t go there
In the past, both leaders had boasted of their friendly relationship, especially during Trump’s first term. But now Macron has not remained silent. On the contrary, he has responded angrily, indignantly, and has taken the opportunity to scold the American, reminding him of his bad taste and his mistake in mixing issues, when there is a war that has gripped the world and that he himself has started.
Pressed to respond to Trump’s comments during an official visit to South Korea on Thursday, Macron said his American counterpart’s words were “inelegant and fell short.” He was visibly upset by having to respond to ridicule about his wife and by having to increase the severity of his words towards the American in this second term.
“This is not a show. We are talking about war and peace, and the lives of men and women,” the French president told reporters upon his arrival in the Asian country. “When you want to be serious, you don’t say every day the opposite of what you said the day before,” Macron added, diverting the focus and bringing it, again, to what’s important. “And maybe you shouldn’t talk every day. You should let things calm down.” “It seems to me that there is too much talk, it is everywhere,” he concluded.
The magnate’s latest comments have provoked a strong reaction in France, where the private lives of politicians enjoy much greater privacy than in the US. Prominent far-left MP Manuel Bompard called the US president’s comments “absolutely unacceptable”, while the centrist president of the French National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, also criticized Trump. “We are currently debating the future of the world,” he said. “We see that our compatriots are extremely affected, and meanwhile, there are people dying on the battlefield, and we have a president who laughs, who makes fun of others,” he said.
Macron’s wife, almost 25 years his senior, has been a sensitive subject for the French president. Last year, the couple filed a defamation lawsuit against the American podcast host over unfounded claims that Brigitte could be a man.
The fight, in the background
While European allies generally supported the US and Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure last year, the magnitude of the current campaign and the lack of a clear strategy this time around have limited support.
France has deployed military forces to the Persian Gulf region, sending aircraft and air defense systems to protect its Arab allies in the Gulf and deploying naval assets, a member of the European Union that has been the target of drone attacks.
However, the French leader has refused to back the US campaign with naval resources to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The French offer to provide protection ships once the fighting reaches its peak has drawn ridicule from the White House.
But France has remained firm, joining its European allies, Spain and Italy, in banning the use of its air bases by American planes taking part in the bombing campaign.
French and American leaders maintained a cordial relationship during Trump’s first term, but have clashed over international politics over the past year.
What began as a public battle of wills, in which the two physically tested each other with their handshakes during their first meetings in Trump’s first term, has morphed into a much more personal dispute. Trump has shared private messages from the French president and has frequently imitated the Frenchman in public.
