Newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron is already standing up to Donald Trump, and making him look bad in the process.
Macron, an independent centrist, decisively defeated Marine Le Pen, a far-right candidate from the National Front party on May 7. Le Pen had received tepid praise from Trump during her campaign, and hoped to ride the wave of right-wing populism embodied by Brexit and Trump into office in France.
Macron met Trump for the first time Thursday in Brussels, Belgium at the NATO G7 summit, and the two leaders exchanged a visibly tense handshake. Trump is famous for his aggressive, domineering handshakes, where he tries to make himself seem dominant over whomever he’s shaking hands with.
Macron, however, would have none of it. The French president gave a long, confident, white knuckle handshake, squashing Trump’s tiny hand and looking very satisfied while doing so.
If you’re thinking I’m over-analyzing the exchange or reading too much into it, consider this:
In response to a question he was asked about the exchange, Macron told the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche “my handshake with him, it wasn't innocent. It’s not the be-all and the end-all of a policy, but it was a moment of truth.” He added, “That’s how you ensure you are respected. One must show that you won't make small concessions, even symbolic ones.”
Macron also criticized Trump’s character as a leader, comparing Trump to authoritarian leaders Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Erogan of Turkey.
“Donald Trump, the Turkish president or the Russian president see relationships in terms of a balance of power. That doesn’t bother me. I don’t believe in diplomacy by public abuse, but in my bilateral dialogues I won’t let anything pass,” Macron told the Journal.
The comparison is certainly an unflattering one that should embarrass any American, although Donald Trump likely considers it a compliment given his childlike admiration for “strong,” macho-man leaders.
Macarons statements are an indication that he will not be a pushover in his relations with Trump. While France has been portrayed colloquially in the United States, particularly by conservatives, as a weak, feminized nation, Macron dominated both his handshake with Trump and the discourse around the meeting.
While Macron is certainly not a perfect progressive politician, we should be relieved that it was him in that chair and not Le Pen, who would only further embolden Trump and the far-right around the globe.