Gérard Araud, the outgoing French ambassador to the United States, said he sympathizes with President Trump and how he handles the “anti-Trump” press.
“The press, to be frank, is so anti-Trump that I do understand that the natural reaction of Trump is to go over the head of the press,” Araud told the New York Times.
Trump, who Araud described as a “big mouth,” has long railed against the “fake news” media. Some of his favorite targets are the New York Times, CNN, and NBC, particularly over their coverage of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and unflattering reports about him or his administration.
Although Trump does agree to interviews with the press, particularly Fox News, he often gets his message across to his supporters through Twitter or rallies.
Araud compared changes in the Republican Party under Trump to shifts in conservative parties in Western Europe. Araud said Republicans used to focus on free trade and limited government spending, but now are “shifting to protectionism, nationalism, defense of the identity.”
Araud also critiqued Trump. He said in an interview with CNN last week that the Trump administration was “dysfunctional” on multiple fronts and Washington, D.C., feels “personally attacked” by the president.
“You have a city that feels frightened and personally attacked by Trump,” Araud told the Times. “At every dinner, you have anecdotes about Donald Trump. And you leave Washington, D.C., and you can spend two days in Seattle and Chicago and nobody says the word ‘Trump.’”
Araud, 66, has served as the French ambassador since 2014. He is heading to Manhattan to write a memoir and may accept a position with communications firm Attias.
