Macron charms Trump, makes Europe’s case for Ukraine
Trump has horrified European allies with his attacks on Volodymyr Zelenskyy and what critics say is a soft take on Vladimir Putin. Enter Emmanuel Macron.
Three years of the war in Ukraine
Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago. With President Donald Trump in office now, is it any closer to ending?
- Trump called French President Macron “a very special man.”
- Macron sought to warn Trump of appearing weak by rushing into a peace agrement with Putin.
- European allies have offered peacekeepers to guarantee Ukraine’s security after a peace agreement – but they want a U.S. backstop.
- “Come to the table with more, if you want a bigger seat at the table,” National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told his European counterparts.
WASHINGTON – Call it the art of the deal.
A gentle pat on the leg. An affectionate grab of the arm. French President Emmanuel Macron managed to do what no other European leader could so far: Charm President Donald Trump.
“President Macron is a very special man in my book,” Trump said in the Oval Office Monday.
Macron has taken a leading role in Europe’s push to keep Trump from cutting a hurried deal to end the Ukraine war that legitimizes Vladimir Putin and rewards the Russian invasion.
“We are personal friends, because we work very well together,” Macron said at the White House. “The U.S. and France always stand on the same side − the right side, I would say, of history.”
U.S. allies are shocked at the rapid pace of Trump’s talks with Putin’s government and suggestions from the White House that the aggressor nation could be allowed to retain territory it seized unlawfully, in order to conclude the three-year war.
Trump’s assault on Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy, who he lambasted as a “dictator without elections” and blamed the Russian invasion on last week, has stunned America’s military partners. He is pushing Zelenskyy to sign a critical minerals agreement that would allow the U.S. to recoup money it has spent − and far more − on Ukraine’s defense.
European leaders are scrambling, with Macron summoning his counterparts to two separate emergency sessions and calling Trump twice. He then appealed to the president face-to-face on Monday, on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Their discussion served as a “turning point” for Europe’s role in peace talks, Macron said.
European countries are ready to put forward security guarantees for a post-war Ukraine − with a U.S. backstop. “And now there’s a clear American message that the U.S. as an ally is ready to provide that solidarity for that approach, that is a turning point in my view,” Macron added.
“We want peace swiftly, but we don’t want an agreement that is weak,” Macron said at a news conference. “President Putin violated the peace,” he added.
European leaders have walked a careful line between publicly defending Zelenskyy and rebuking Trump in a way that provokes him to dig in.
“I think that we should not spend time on commenting on the comments. I think that we have to mobilize ourselves and do our job,” a European official told USA TODAY. “We still believe in the transatlantic alliance.”
European leaders are descending on Washington to plead with Trump and his advisers not to be duped by Putin.
Group of Seven leaders also convened a Monday Ukraine call, which Trump and Macron joined from the Oval Office.
Polish President Andrzej Duda met with Trump on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will visit the White House on Thursday.
Starmer has offered to deploy UK troops to Ukraine as postwar peacekeepers if they are backstopped by the U.S. The proposal would reportedly involve around 30,000 European troops.
“Other countries are ready to join in this effort. Solidarity and support from the U.S. will be crucial to this,” Macron said Monday. “But we do need this American backup, because this is part of the credibility of the security guarantees,” he said later.
European officials were hopeful Macron could get through to Trump, who he hosted at France’s Élysée Palace in December. He is the first European leader to visit the White House since the Republican’s return to office.
Trump told Fox News last week that he considered Macron “a friend of mine” and thinks Starmer is a “very nice guy.” But, he argued, “they didn’t do anything” to bring the war to an end.
Tearing into Zelenskyy, he said: “He’s been in the meetings for three years and nothing got done, so I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you.” Trump added,…
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