Trump-Macron: True partners, or just friends?
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Howard LaFranchi Staff writer
| Washington
Shortly before French President Emmanuel Macron was to meet President Trump for the first time at a NATO summit last spring, the young and hyper-ambitious French leader received an urgent memo from France鈥檚 ambassador in Washington.
Beware the American leader鈥檚 peculiar but very intentional handshake, the ambassador, G茅rard Araud, advised Mr. Macron. Best to be prepared for it.
What followed, Macron himself has since confirmed, was a crash course featuring videos of the Trump grab-and-jerk handshake, followed by sessions where France鈥檚 youngest leader since Napoleon practiced power handshakes of his own.
The result was not just the handshake seen 鈥榬ound the world, but the budding of an unlikely relationship that is on full display in Washington this week: Tuesday night the 鈥淎merica First鈥� president 鈥� who has shown little respect or use for world leaders, including many US allies 鈥� lavishes the first state dinner of his presidency on a French leader who freely associates himself with his country鈥檚 long-gone absolute monarchs.
From an intimate dinner for the two first couples Monday at George Washington鈥檚 Mount Vernon estate to Macron鈥檚 address Wednesday to a joint session of Congress 鈥� plus a dialogue with students at George Washington University 鈥� Americans are getting a glimpse of the one world leader with whom Trump appears to have clicked.
The question that remains to be answered is whether all the fuss and fanfare that have gone into cementing an unusual transatlantic bond will translate into a deeper relationship that enhances cooperation on common interests. They range from counterterrorism and European security to countering Iran and upholding international norms, such as the ban on the use of chemical weapons.
If it does, it will have all started with that first handshake 鈥� when a physically diminutive Macron demonstrated strength and self-respect to an unorthodox American president known for disdaining those who in his eyes demonstrate weakness.
鈥淭rump hates weak people and those with no personality, and I think Macron distinguished himself from the outset with that handshake,鈥� says Jeff Lightfoot, a nonresident senior fellow specializing in US-Europe relations and North Atlantic security at Washington鈥檚 Atlantic Council.
Indeed it is Macron who has 鈥渂roken the code of this president鈥� by managing to simultaneously demonstrate personal strength and respect for Trump, says Heather Conley, director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.
鈥淭rump does respond well to strength, but it wasn鈥檛 just the handshake鈥� that forged this bond and explains why Macron, unlike some other leaders, has managed to steer clear of Trump鈥檚 Twitter tirades, she says. 鈥淚t stems very much from President Trump鈥檚 [subsequent] trip to Paris, when President Macron really went out of his way to demonstrate respect for Trump and for France鈥檚 relations with the United States.鈥�
As others note, it was on the Paris trip weeks after the handshake that Macron made Trump his guest of honor to the Bastille Day military parade, thus exposing him to the martial force that has made France perhaps America鈥檚 most reliable security partner.
鈥淢acron has proven to be very adept at the symbolism and stagecraft of international politics,鈥� says Jeff Rathke, a former US foreign service officer now specializing in US-Europe relations at CSIS. 鈥淗e has a sense that resonates with President Trump.鈥�
The Bastille Day parade, he adds, really drove home 鈥渢he strength France brings to the [Franco-American] relationship.鈥�
Contrast with Merkel
Trump鈥檚 enchantment with Macron and the US-France relationship is on display this week not only in the three-day state visit, but in how it contrasts so starkly with the one-day working visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel will make to the White House Friday.
The German leader may bring with her the same topics her French counterpart will seek to address 鈥� primarily the Iran nuclear deal and transatlantic trade 鈥� but the brief official visit seems to underscore how Trump鈥檚 relations with Germany have never taken off.
But if Macron has spent such time and effort cementing what he calls a 鈥渧ery close鈥� relationship with Trump, it is not in the least out of a sycophantic desire to be the American president鈥檚 best buddy, experts say. Rather, it reflects a clear-eyed mission to pursue the global role France envisions for itself and to further French interests through close ties to the leader who, as Ambassador Araud noted at an Atlantic Council event earlier this month, is 鈥渁fter all, the most powerful man in the world.鈥�
Macron and Trump may disagree on many key issues, from climate change and the Paris climate accord to the usefulness of the Iran nuclear deal. But as numerous diplomatic analysts have pointed out, the French leader is out to demonstrate to Trump that the two nations鈥� enduring common interests outweigh even big current disputes.
鈥淢acron plays on France鈥檚 soft power when he invites Trump to the Champs-脡lys茅es鈥� to review the Bastille Day military parade 鈥渋n a demonstration of pragmatic cooperation overcoming strategic disagreements,鈥� says C茅lia Belin, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution鈥檚 Center on the United States and Europe.
Writing recently in the Washington-based National Interest, the former French Foreign Ministry US analyst adds that 鈥淢acron鈥檚 flawless English and flair for theatrical statecraft puts France at the center of international relationships in ways that considerably expand the country鈥檚 global influence.鈥�
Yet what Macron may be about to learn is whether or not punching above one鈥檚 own weight translates into concrete results, especially when dealing with the 鈥淎merica First鈥� Trump, who seized the opportunity at their meeting today to attack the Iran nuclear deal as 鈥渋nsane.鈥�
French expectations
Macron comes to the White House with the Iran deal at the top of his agenda. Experts say the French leader would like nothing better than to convince Trump to stick with the international accord past the May 12 deadline Trump faces for deciding whether the US remains in or exits the deal.
But they add that Macron and his entourage have been careful to avoid sounding like they are on a rescue mission for the Iran deal 鈥� or that the French leader has a list of must-gets in his travel bag.
鈥淭he French are playing down the expectations, they don鈥檛 want to be seen as coming home empty-handed,鈥� says the Atlantic Council鈥檚 Mr. Lightfoot. 鈥淭he truth is that they don鈥檛 know what this president is going to decide [on Iran] any more than anyone else does.鈥�
That explains why Macron is likely, especially publicly, to put the emphasis on the 鈥渆nduring common interests and specific goals鈥� the two nations have, says Mr. Rathke.
鈥淔or Macron it will be important to underscore where the US and France cooperate militarily 鈥� in the Sahel [region of Africa], on ISIS in Syria, as we鈥檝e seen recently on enforcing the norms against the use of chemical weapons with the airstrikes in Syria 鈥� and how that cooperation furthers our common interests,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hose security interests are enduring,鈥� he adds, 鈥渁nd they will endure even if he doesn鈥檛 get Trump to adjust his policies鈥� on issues like Iran.
Another area Macron will address is trade, and in particular Western trade with China. But that conversation will be marked by Trump administration threats to impose tariffs on European steel and automobiles. 鈥淏asically Macron鈥檚 message to Trump will be, 鈥榃e share concerns on China鈥檚 trade and industrial development practices, but we can鈥檛 work together if you are putting tariffs on us,鈥� 鈥� Lightfoot says.
Yet while Macron may not need to score a win on the Iran deal to maintain relations with Trump, at some point he will need to get something concrete to show for his efforts to woo the US president, others say.
鈥淎t the end of the day, leaders need to deliver for their national interests,鈥� says Ms. Conley of CSIS. 鈥淎nd if there鈥檚 nothing to show for the effort put into a relationship, it doesn鈥檛 really matter at that point if one leader can say, 鈥榊es we haven鈥檛 got much, but I am treated differently in the Twitter account.鈥� 鈥�
