President Donald Trump has never been one for common conventions of respect, even as he assumed the highest political office in the United States. In recent days, he lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron after the leader denounced nationalism, and the French have now responded. A French government spokesperson lashed out at the president for his lack of “decency.”
Spokesman Benjamin Griveaux commented:
‘Yesterday was November 13, we were marking the murder of 130 of our people. So I’ll reply in English: ‘common decency’ would have been appropriate.’
Indeed — the latest round of rhetorical attacks from the president came on the anniversary of the terror attacks that rocked Paris in 2015 and left well over 100 people dead.
Trump has already irked the French over his treatment of the incident and its aftermath — because of course he has. At a national convention for the NRA, he asserted that the night could have gone differently if there’d been more armed security around — because to him, stopping a multinational terrorist conspiracy encapsulating a large portion of a major global city comes down to a guy with a handgun, or something.
Perhaps he thinks that the 9/11 terror attacks could have been stopped if only people were allowed to carry guns on planes?
This time around, he targeted Macron in particular over his country’s trade practices, his aforementioned remarks against nationalism, and even his approval rating.
He lashed out over a suggestion from the French president that Europe build up its own defenses separate from NATO, literally going so far as to call back to American work in World Wars I and II for his effort to lord himself over Macron.
He ranted (among other things):
‘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!’
To be clear, the suggestion for European military defense isn’t meant as an affront against the United States — or even to “protect Europe against the U.S.” Why would they need military protection from the Americans? Trump basically just seems to think everything is about him, to get simple for a moment.
It’s ironic that through all of this tumult and back and forth, a world leader need only to speak of the need to come together as humans with a shared destiny for them to be taken as assailing the current U.S. president.
The spat isn’t the only instance of Trump placing himself at odds with world leaders. He’s complained, for instance, over countries supposedly failing to meet their NATO spending agreements to the point of casting American partnership as hinging on the cash. He’s withdrawn from the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal — both of which France is party to, among other countries — leaving other nations to pick up the pieces after he shoots in the dark at global politics.
The list could go on, and President Trump’s antagonism of the basics of the global order continues.
Featured Image via YouTube screenshot
