After President Trump’s visit to France to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War II, European leaders – especially French President Emmanuel Macron – must be asking themselves whether relations will ever be the same again.
The presidential visit was marked by a flurry of verbal salvos and put-downs as one side sought to represent a Globalist vision and the other defended the idea of Nationalism and nation-state sovereignty. Now that the visit is over, Trump has decided to take it up a notch.
Twitter Storm
In his usual manner, Trump sought to set the record straight for all those that are swooning over the self-proclaimed “Jupiterian Leader,” by knocking the gas giant out of his cozy orbit.
The first shot went right to the heart of the leaders’ disagreement:
Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two – How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
When Macron touted the idea of a European army to counter enemies such as “Russia, China, and the United States,” many on the world stage saw this as an insult not only to Trump but to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who lost their lives fighting for France’s freedom in two world wars.
And then came Trump’s favored subject: Trade.
On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
Does this mean that the U.S. and France are about to become embroiled in a trade war? Despite what the complicit media is about to start spinning, it’s actually pretty unlikely. The main reason being that France as a nation has ceded its power to negotiate its own trade deals with the rest of the world to the unelected E.U Commission in Brussels. Macron can bluff and bluster all he likes, but he needs agreement from 26 other nations to retaliate; each of which is looking at increasing their own wine sales with North America at France’s expense.
And Poor Macron
Trump then got down to the nitty-gritty of dealing with Macron:
The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!……..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
And strangely enough, this is the tweet that has so far received very little criticism. Could it be because Trump’s attackers don’t like to argue against facts? Macron’s popularity rating has steadily sunk since winning office against Marine Le Pen. Mired in scandals, corruption charges, failed policies, and an unwillingness even to acknowledge that there is such a thing as a Frenchman, Macron’s party looks set to be swept aside in the E.U elections next year in favor of… you’ve guessed it… nationalist parties.
But perhaps Trump’s most stinging rebuke is also the simplest. A single message that all the polling is pointing towards being on the tongue of every French patriot over the next two years. As cousins gaze out to the Atlantic Ocean, pondering the record jobs, the low unemployment, the rising wages, and most of all, a leader who has faith in those who elected him, each man and woman will be teased by Donald Trump’s final command to them: Make France Great Again.
