Macron says Trump weakens NATO by casting doubt on U.S. commitment
French President Emmanuel Macron took a swipe at Donald Trump on Thursday, saying the American leader risks undermining NATO by creating doubts on U.S. commitment to the security alliance.
“Alliances like NATO are defined by what isn’t said – that is, the trust that underlies them,” Macron told reporters in Seoul, where he is on a state visit as part of an East Asia tour.
“If you cast doubt every day about your commitment, you undermine that trust,” he said, adding that U.S. officials were fueling uncertainty by signaling “they won’t do this or that or the other.”
“When you have signed a treaty, you don’t question it every morning or keep saying whether you will act,” Macron added. “You say nothing – and the day there is a problem, you are there.”
Trump on Wednesday escalated U.S. criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, suggesting he was seriously considering withdrawing from the alliance. His remarks followed comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, typically seen as a defender of NATO, who called its response to the war in Iran “very disappointing.”
Macron said countries were already bearing the consequences of the conflict. France has maintained that it wasn’t informed of plans to attack Iran and is not part of the war.
European allies remain skeptical Trump would ultimately pull the U.S. out of NATO, but fear his renewed threats are eroding the alliance at a precarious moment.
While the rhetoric isn’t particularly novel – Trump and his cohort have long bashed NATO allies as free-loaders who don’t help the U.S. – the president’s latest ire is posing a greater risk to the alliance as his war in Iran deepens and he looks for people to blame, Bloomberg previously reported.
Macron met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi earlier this week in Tokyo, where the two agreed on the need for a ceasefire in Iran and safe passage for shipping in the region.
Asked about Trump’s comments on Wednesday that Macron’s wife was treating the French leader badly, Macron said the remarks “were neither elegant nor up to standard,” and refused to elaborate.