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A8 WORLD NEWS
Monday 23 april 2018

Why French globalist Macron is befriending nationalist Trump

By ANGELA CHARLTON and France is the most vigorous politics have made Trump
SYLVIE CORBET defender of the 2015 deal feel like an outsider, Ma-
Associated Press curbing Iran's nuclear am- cron "accepts him and re-
PARIS (AP) — Of everything bitions. Trump is threaten- spects him rather than dis-
Emmanuel Macron has ac- ing to abandon the agree- daining him," Dungan said.
complished in nearly a year ment next month. Macron "It's a very effective strat-
as France's president, the hopes to make progress egy of influence ... through
most important may be his this week on convincing respect and treating him
tough-love friendship with Trump to stay onboard. legitimately."
Donald Trump. And then there's trade. At least so far. Macron
From their first bone- Macron and German still runs the risk of getting
squeezing handshake to Chancellor Angela Merkel "tagged with Trump's vul-
Macron's recent claim that — who planned to visit garity, which so far he's
he persuaded Trump to Washington on Friday — been immune to," Dungan
bomb Syria, it's been an im- have pushed back hard on said.
probable relationship. And In this May 25, 2017 file photo, US President Donald Trump, Trump's steel tariffs and his Macron's ease in speaking
it will be on pomp-filled shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron, right, America First vision, which English probably helped
display starting Monday as during a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Brussels. threaten Europe's powerful in establishing a rapport
Macron goes on a state Associated Press single market. — as did his ability to play
visit to Washington, the first By design, Macron's state the tough-guy game that
by any leader since Trump dent is less credible," he own diplomatic maneu- visit will be more about Trump relishes.
took office. said. vering in the Middle East symbolism than substance, Despite being smaller and
Macron calls Trump all the The French president has with the goals of defending and no big breakthroughs younger than Trump, Ma-
time. With other world lead- the most to gain from the French interests and mak- are expected. cron has been able to spar
ers too wary or weak to woo three-day state visit. He ing sure Europe has a say in But over the long term, Ma- in a way that begets ad-
the impulsive U.S. president, wants to fortify his image as the region's future. cron hopes his rapport with miration instead of resent-
Macron calculates that it's the face of today's Europe For all their camaraderie, Trump will help mitigate ment, starting with their first
smarter and safer to talk to and the No. 1 defender Macron and Trump dis- some of their policy differ- meeting at a NATO summit
Trump than isolate him. of a liberal world order, as agree on some fundamen- ences. His office holds up in May, where Macron took
The 40-year-old moderate well as prove that France tal issues. the U.S.-French coopera- Trump's hand and wouldn't
progressive, who had nev- is essential to solving world Take global warming. Ma- tion on missile strikes on Syr- let go.
er held elected office be- problems such as Iran's nu- cron mocked Trump's cam- ia this month as a model for In Trump’s confrontational
fore he won France's presi- clear ambitions and inter- paign slogan by promising future joint actions. world, “Macron comes
dential election, defended national trade wars. in a Twitter video he re- So how has Macron man- across as straight arrow,
his overtures to the 71-year- His aims may sound like corded in English to "Make aged to avoid annoying ready for a fight,” said Fran-
old conservative Trump in French hubris or wishful our planet great again!" Trump, famously sensitive cois Heisbourg, a former
an interview on the broad- thinking, but they are con- The video was posted to slights? French government adviser
cast "Fox News Sunday." sistent with the "France is moments after Trump an- "He has played Trump very and current chair of the In-
"I am not going to judge ... back" global strategy Ma- nounced he wanted to pull well," said Nicolas Dungan, ternational Institute for Stra-
what should be your presi- cron has set for his tenure. out of the U.N.-sponsored senior fellow at the Atlan- tegic Studies. At their NATO
dent, or to consider that He talks regularly to Russian Paris climate accord last tic Council, a Washington- meeting, “Macron twists his
because of these contro- President Vladimir Putin and year. based think tank. arm. And this is the begin-
versies or because of these other controversial leaders, Policy toward Iran is an- While other world leaders ning of a great friendship,”
investigations, your presi- too. He also has tried his other point of discord. and veterans of Beltway Heisbourg said.q