Trump just picked a fight with Macron minutes after landing in France

Trump flew to France today and it was only a matter of time before our big, bloviating embarrassment of a president caused his latest diplomatic incident. Now, he’s done just that.

Apparently, Trump found out about French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments from several days ago in which he called for a joint European military to defend against outside threats.

“We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America. Who is the main victim? Europe and its security. I want to build a real security dialogue with Russia, which is a country I respect, a European country – but we must have a Europe that can defend itself on its own without relying only on the United States,” said Macron.

Trump, who has long whinged hinged about NATO spending and complained that EU countries aren’t paying their “fair share” for defense, was for some reason upset by Macron’s suggestion. He called it “very insulting” and then pivoted to once again whine about NATO paying its fair share.

The contradiction is both obvious and laughable. In one breath Trump claims that he wants Europe to spend more on defense and in the next, he acts angry that Macron is suggesting that Europe unite to strengthen its collective military.

Presumably, Trump is lashing out because he knows that the French president’s comments paint him in a bad light. Europe would not have to consider muscling up its military if its leaders still thought that they could rely on the United States for their security. Trump has reduced our longstanding alliances to tatters and destroyed confidence that America would stand by Europe if war broke out.

This trip to France should have offered an opportunity for President Trump to patch up some of the international relationships he’s ruined, but he’s clearly decided he’d much rather pick a pointless fight. It’s a wasted opportunity and the latest in a long string of Trumpian humiliations for the United States.

Natalie Dickinson

Natalie is a staff writer for the Washington Press. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 and has been freelance blogging and writing for progressive outlets ever since.