As President Emmanuel Macron of France continues his state visit to Washington, it’s worth considering why he has forged such a constructive working relationship with President Trump. After all, on paper the two leaders are polar opposites.
Macron is a political centrist ardently committed to multilateral institutions like the European Union and United Nations. He is engineering the implementation of the Paris climate accord, embraces free trade, and enjoys blue lobster.
Conversely, Trump is a populist who has very little time for international bindings. He has abandoned the Paris accord, is skeptical about free trade, and — to the horror of every decent Frenchman — enjoys his steaks well done!
And yet, when Macron and Trump are together, they seem like the best of friends. I think there are two reasons why.
First off, both leaders have shared interests.
In Syria and Iraq, France and the U.S. are working together to defeat the Islamic State with ground forces, air strikes, and intelligence cooperation. In the same vein, both leaders recently authorized strikes targeting Bashar Assad for his use of chemical weapons. Macron has also earned Trump’s favor in his defense spending increases.
And while the two leaders disagree over how to deal with Iran — Macron is pushing Trump to remain in the nuclear agreement (he’s not going to) — Macron shares U.S. concerns over Iranian aggression in the region. To that end, Macron has echoed the Trump administration’s approach in consolidating relations with Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia and Saad Hariri in Lebanon.
All of this strikes a great contrast with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who has openly distanced herself from Trump in both personal and policy terms.
That said, the apparent personal chemistry between these two leaders isn’t rooted in true friendship so much as it is mutual understanding.
More specifically, Macron’s recognition that the way to Trump’s heart is parade-style praise and a healthy flow of banter. As an example of this banter point, consider how Trump teased Macron during his July 2017 visit to France. Trump likely also respects Macron for his handshake antics! The simple point is that Trump seems to take great personal satisfaction from the stylish young president’s warmth.
But whatever the motivation for their rapport, it is constructive to the interests of both nations. That’s what counts.
An earlier version of this article misidentified Saad Hariri. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
