President Trump returned from his third journey abroad this week buoyed by the success of a two-day tour in Paris that was designed to feature his newly forged bond with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The bonhomie of Trump’s meetings in France came as a surprise to some observers given that the president had offered veiled support for Marine Le Pen, Macron’s election opponent, and that former President Barack Obama endorsed Macron shortly before he won election in May by highlighting Macron’s embrace of “liberal values.”