Donald Trump appeared to humiliate French president Emmanuel Macron this afternoon when he didn’t greet him on his arrival at the White House, and perched him by the side of his desk in the Oval Office.
Footage showed the French president pulling up in a black car before he was welcomed into the West Wing by Acting White House Chief of Protocol Abigail Jones.
Images have also revealed Macron in the corner of his Oval Office desk during a Zoom call with world leaders – while Trump sat in the middle.
Macron and Trump came face-to-face with a firm handshake a short time later during their scheduled greeting time.
Trump sent shockwaves through Europe by criticising the Ukrainian president and claiming Ukraine started the war rather than Russia.
Before his visit, Macron said he would present Trump with arguments that it was not in his interests to bend to Moscow.
‘I will tell him: Deep down you cannot be weak in the face of President (Putin). It’s not you, it’s not what you’re made of and it’s not in your interests,’ he said during a social media question-and-answer session.
French President Emanuel Macron pulls up in a black car and is welcomed by Acting White House Chief of Protocol Abigail Jones
Images have also revealed Macron in the corner of his Oval Office desk during a Zoom call with world leaders – while Trump sat in the middle
Trump humiliated Macron after not greeting him outside the White House today
Macron arrives at the West Wing ahead of meetings with United States President Trump
Macron departs the West Wing to return to Blair House after meetings with President Trump at the White House
Macron walks the White House grounds with staffer Jones
In a press conference in the Oval Office this afternoon, Trump described the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as a ‘rough war’, saying you ‘can make up the money but you can’t make up lives’.
He also warned that the situation could result in a Third World War, saying the lives of more ‘beautiful people’ could be lost as the conflict continues.
Trump also backed NATO, but said it is only a ‘good thing if it’s used properly’.
The French and US presidents started the day on a conference call with G7 leaders on the day marking the third anniversary of the full Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Macron will be tag teamed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who will be at the White House on Thursday.
Starmer previewed his case just ahead of Macron’s arrival, unveiling fresh sanctions on Moscow and saying that Trump had ‘changed the global conversation’ around Ukraine.
‘We must keep dialling up the economic pressure to get Putin to a point where he is ready not just to talk, but to make concessions,’ he said during a remote address to a gathering of Ukraine’s allies.
Aides later clarified that Starmer meant Trump had changed the conversation ‘for the better.’
Macron speaks as President Trump listens during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House
Trump meets with President Macron at the White House in Washington
Macron in the Oval Office at the White House this afternoon in Washington
Trump looks serious during the meeting at the conference in the White House today
Macron looks at Trump during the Oval Office conference in Washington
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stand during the conference
The UK and France represent Europe’s nuclear powers.
And their leaders have indicated they are ready to step up assistance to Ukraine, and stand up a European military force to protect a peace deal.
Trump also met the Polish president on the sidelines of a conservative conference on Saturday.
It illustrates the way Trump has at a stroke upended the US position on Ukraine.
Where the Biden administration took pains to isolate Moscow and its autocratic leader Putin, Trump changed direction with a 90-minute phone to the Russian leader earlier this month.
Russian officials said they have already started preparations for a Trump-Putin summit.
European leaders, closer to the war than Trump, fear that Putin will get whatever he wants if American president pushes through a peace agreement without Ukrainians at the table at every step.
