French President Emmanuel Macron shot back at President Trump for comments he made about NATO and his wife, according to a report from French outlets Le Monde and Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Trump on Wednesday ridiculed Macron as well as his wife, Brigitte Macron, during a private lunch, while also going after NATO allies because they weren’t taking part in the U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran, according to the report. The president attempted a French accent, also saying that Brigitte Macron “treats” her husband “extremely badly,” Le Monde and AFP reported.
While in South Korea on Thursday, the French president called Trump’s comments “neither elegant nor up to standard,” according to the report.
“So I am not going to respond to them — they do not merit a response,” Macron said, according to Le Monde and AFP.
Earlier this week, President Trump criticized France for being “very unhelpful” in the conflict against Iran in the wake of the European country’s decision to not let planes on their way to Israel fly over its territory.
“The Country of France wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory,” Trump said on Truth Social. “France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated!”
On Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Ministry said Israel was stopping the acquisition of defense-related goods and services from France.
“The Director General of the Israel Ministry of Defense. Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram has decided to reduce all defense procurement from France to zero, replacing it with domestic Israeli procurement or purchases from allied countries,” a Defense Ministry spokesperson said in a statement emailed to The Hill.
In the statement, the spokesperson said, “France has taken a series of actions that have harmed Israel’s security and the operational capabilities of its defense industry.”
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
