US President Donald Trump on Monday said that his administration has had “a lot of problems with the French”, suggesting issues with his counterpart in France, Emmanuel Macron, with whom he shares a ‘bromance’.
In an interview with Fox News, the US president was asked about the enrolment of Chinese students at universities in the United States. Presenter Laura Ingraham said during the interview, “They’re not the French, they’re the Chinese. They spy on us. They steal our intellectual property.”
However, what came as a surprise was when Trump abruptly cut in to respond, “Do you think the French are better, really? I will tell you, I’m not so sure.” Notably, Trump has been entangled in a trade war with Beijing for the past few months.
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What problems does Trump have with France?
In the interview, when Trump shifted focus from China to France, he said the issue was France’s taxation policies. “We’ve had a lot of problems with the French where we get taxed unfairly on our technology,” he said.
His statement came after Ingraham questioned him about his administration’s changing stance on foreign students.
Trump had earlier said he would impose “substantial” additional tariffs on countries that introduced “discriminatory” digital taxes.
In May, US secretary of state Marco Rubio had said that Washington would “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students.” However, a few months later, Trump said the country would allow 600,000 Chinese students to “come in.”
Trump-Macron ‘bromance’
The US president shares a well-known personal rapport with French President Emmanuel Macron, as seen by their firm handshakes, friendly pats on the back, and camera-friendly gestures.
In September, Macron had called Trump directly to inform him that he was stuck in traffic due to the presidential convoy in New York while leaving the UN headquarters for a meeting. However, their ‘bromance’ has often been tetchy, as Trump has opposed Macron’s recognition of a Palestinian state and his climate policies.
The US president has also urged European nations to increase their defence spending through NATO, while Macron has been among the key leaders pushing Europe’s efforts to keep Trump supportive of military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
