In a clip circulating from Donald Trump’s blockbuster rally in southern New Jersey last Saturday, the 45th President reveals the hardball negotiating tactics he used to compel the leader of France to repeal an apparent tax which was to be imposed on U.S. companies in France.
During the massive event, which reportedly drew as many as 100,000 attendees to a town with a permanent population of around 6,000 people, Trump took a moment to brag about his acumen in negotiating trade policy. True to his reputation as the author of The Art of the Deal, Trump reveals how he managed to outwit French President Emanuel Macron, after the hexagon-shaped European nation imposed a tax on U.S. goods.
“Emmanuel, you’re putting a big tax on American companies doing business in France. You can’t do it,” Trump said, quoting himself.
“Oh, it’s too late. I wish you would have called me earlier. It’s too late,” Trump quoted Macron as saying, imitating Macron’s French accent as he recounted the saga.
“I said, ‘let me just tell you something, Emmanuel. Are you ready? Every single bottle of wine and champagne from France will be taxed at 100%,'” Trump continued.
“No, no, no, you cannot do that,” Macron reportedly replied, per Trump’s retelling.
“I said, ‘I can do it. It’s done. I have an order right in front of me. I’m signing it. You have 10 minutes. Call me back.’ He calls me back in about three minutes, [and said] ‘Donald, we are pleased to inform you that we were able to end that horrible tax.’ I won! You know how many deals I made like that?” Trump concluded.
Despite the adversarial nature of the interaction Trump described, he prefaced his account by praising President Macron, acclaiming the French leader as “nice guy” whom Trump respects for defending the interests of the French people—just as Trump takes pride in defending the interests of the people of the United States.
“I called up Macron of France—[inaudible] nice guy, loves France, you know, likes France—he’s a friend of mine!” Trump remarked before launching into his story.
During the New York businessman’s four-year presidency, Trump-Macron relationship was among the most entertaining and complex in all of geopolitics. Though the two occupy somewhat different ideological positions, with Trump’s right-wing populism contrasting with Macron’s progressive ideology, observers have noted personal similarities between the two leaders: disdainful attitudes towards the press and political opponents, their shared statuses as outsiders to elected politics before assuming the highest offices in their respective countries, and perhaps two larger-than-average egos. These traits may explain why the two leaders have often praised each other and appeared chummy in meetings, despite adversarial interactions such as the one Trump described at the rally.
The unusual dynamic between the former U.S. President and his incumbent French counterpart was perhaps best exemplified by a a tense, outrageously long handshakes between the two leaders early in both presidencies. Macron, apparently responding to Trump’s policy of never being the first to release a handshake, reciprocated in kind, resulting in a situation where the two leaders clasped hands for an entire 29 seconds. Though the awkward moment was ridiculed by the press and users of social media, it appeared to lay the groundwork for the mutual respect between the two tough negotiators: a partnership between the American and French heads of state warmer perhaps than any since the famously fond relationship between U.S. President Richard Nixon and French President Charles de Gaulle during the former’s tenure in the Oval Office.
