Even though France and the US are allies, it appears that French President Emmanuel Macron has no sympathy for the US President Donald Trump. According to Macron, Trump’s narcissistic personality guides him in his decision-making whereas he has no understanding of how the world functions. Macron also noted that Trump’s ideology is not clear enough.
With that in mind, the French president has two options. One is to lecture Trump on how the world works and how to be the president of a great nation. The other is to manipulate him, and for better or worse, he chooses the second option. Hopefully, this will be a great choice for everyone because it is up to Macron to navigate and shape the relations between the United States and Europe in the upcoming months.
The Washington Post writes: “The special bond that seems to have developed between the 71-year-old American president and Macron, a 40-year-old political novice elected just a year ago, is no accident. While [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel is clearly turned off by Trump, and British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Parliament and population have indicated they don’t even want him to visit, Macron has gone far out of his way to cultivate him.”
This is also backed up by the statement of one of the officials close to France leader “Macron is doing this because he knows that he has to be close to our closest ally, the president of the most powerful country in the world. It’s in our interest to have a good relationship. He doesn’t go as a friend.”
Could the two presidents be close friends? For Donald Trump, it is all about how he is treated by the foreign countries. When Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Trump on a high level, he was foolish enough to believe that China was America’s friend. The same happens with Saudi Arabia. He never considered that the American Presidents have been welcomed and appreciated across the world and that this was standard fare for the US leaders. Trump has taken this personally, and that has a huge effect on both the United States and the allies as well.
We need to make a point that authoritarian leaders know how to manipulate everyone, and they are cunning. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be in the position they are. Some people worry that North Korean’s Kim Jong-Un would deceive Trump and they are partially right. Flattery is insincere, and the US President needs to realize that as soon as possible. He may make a wrong decision, instead.
Sometimes, differences arise between the United States and its allies, which is a natural thing in politics. Instead of facing reality and solving the differences all the leaders of the allied countries need to do is to praise Trump and everything would turn up for the best. And this is what Macron has done. Instead of showing Trump the effects of getting out of the Iran deal he decided to praise his strategy. He is aware that there is a possibility that Trump wouldn’t listen to the arguments or that he might be bored by his speech, and their relationship would only deter. And The Washington Post confirms it:
“According to officials involved in the U.S.-European talks, significant progress has been made on addressing concerns about the deal’s sunset clauses, its verification rules, and the absence of restrictions on Iranian ballistic missile testing and development, as well as new measures to counter Iran’s “malign” activities in Syria and beyond in the Middle East. Four documents have been drafted that they believe are responsive to Trump’s criticisms.
“An overall declaration and three sub-texts are to outline their joint understanding that other international conventions will prohibit Iran from developing nuclear weapons beyond restrictions that expire in the next decade; push the International Atomic Energy Agency to expand its monitoring; and promise strict sanctions if Iran moves forward with intercontinental ballistic missile development.”
If Trump reimposes sanctions on Iran, they are going to continue with the nuclear weapons program while the European countries remain in the deal. Just the fact that Macron has any influence on Trump’s decisions says a lot about his skills as a politician. He is doing what is best for France, but we all hope that works because this is what’s best for the States as well.
Source: washingtonpost.com
