French President Emmanuel Macron in South Korea on Thursday (April 2), addressed US President Donald Trump’s comments expressing his displeasure over Trump mocking him and his wife.
“So I am not going to respond to them – they do not merit a response,” Macron told reporters.
Trump mocks Macron and wife during Washington lunch
Trump appeared to ridicule Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, during a private lunch in Washington on Wednesday. Guests included faith leaders and government figures. The President also criticized NATO allies for not supporting a potential war against Iran.
Trump mocks French accent and marriage
During the lunch, Trump mimicked a French accent while commenting on Macron’s marriage: “I call up France, Macron – whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw.”
He appeared to reference a May 2025 video showing Brigitte Macron lightly pushing her husband’s face as they disembarked from a plane in Vietnam. At the time, Macron said: “We were joking as we often do,” denying any domestic dispute.
Criticism of NATO support
Trump also commented on France’s assistance regarding Iran: “We didn’t need them, but I asked anyway… And I said, Emmanuel, we’d love to have some help in the Gulf even though we’re setting records on knocking out bad people and knocking out ballistic missiles. We’d love to have some help. If you could, could you please send ships immediately.”
He then attempted a French accent to quote Macron’s alleged response: “‘No, no, no, we cannot do that, Donald. We can do that after the war is won.’ I said, no no, I don’t need after the war is won, Emmanuel.”
Trump concluded with a jab at NATO: “So I learned about Nato – Nato won’t be there if we ever have the big one, you know what I mean by the big one.”
