Whatever bouncer Trump threw at him, Emmanuel Macron dispatched it with deft, diplomatic skill. But the French leader’s experience shows that Starmer must be prepared for the unexpected, and ready to deliver a tour-de-force with style and élan, entirely on the fly.
On Monday, Emmanuel Macron softened the ground for his British colleague, but also schooled him in how to handle the unpredictable American President.
The French President Emmanuel Macron and Trump hold a joint press conference at the White House (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Macron’s strategy towards Trump was a cocktail comprising one part charm offensive, one part confrontation, and one part engagement. In the Oval Office, the French president waxed lyrical about his decision to invite Trump to attend the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris last December, an opportunity the President-elect eagerly grasped, and then spoke warmly about on two occasions during Monday’s public comments.
Trump and Macron in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday (Photo: Jim Watson / AFP)
Macron made his move just one hour after Trump blocked G7 leaders from issuing a collective statement slamming Russia for its war on Ukraine, and ordered the US Ambassador at the United Nations to vote “no” in Monday’s General Assembly vote condemning Putin’s aggression against the country.
Trump argued that Putin had no objection to European peacekeepers taking up positions in Ukraine after any agreement was signed. But Kremlin officials then countered that claim, saying no specific conversation on the matter had occurred.
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Read MoreThe French President pointedly and repeatedly emphasised the need for “a measurable, verifiable” peace. He claimed that he and Trump “share the same vision”, and conceded that America’s allies were “well aware that Europeans need to do more for security and defence in Europe”. But he also pointedly articulated a view that now seems to be controversial in the new Washington: “This peace must not mean a surrender by Ukraine”, he warned Trump.
Number 10 can at least now study the Macron playbook, and decide whether Starmer should emulate the French leader’s efforts to woo and cajole his mercurial and quixotic American host. Macron departed Washington believing that he played Trump like a violin. But it will now fall to the UK Prime Minister to prove that he has the skill to complete the symphony.
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