French President Macron in Washington as the United States Turns a Cold Shoulder to European Allies

French President Emmanuel Macron meeting with President Trump on Feb. 24, 2025, at the White House in Washington ( Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times)

On Mon. Feb. 24, 2025, the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington D.C. During their meeting and a joint news press conference, Macron and Trump focused on France-U.S. relations and the Russo-Ukrainian War. Trump claimed that European nations would “get their money back” for supporting Ukraine; he views the money given to Ukraine as a loan that will be paid back through business opportunities, such as the mineral deal being negotiated between the U.S. and Ukraine. Trump’s interpretation of Europe providing Ukraine with a loan led Macron to gently correct Trump, saying that “[Europe] provided real money” to Ukraine; Macron sees the money as protecting an ally and is not currently focused on being repaid for their contributions. When asked about his remarks of calling Ukrainian President Zelenskyy a dictator, Trump refused to call Putin a dictator. On the other hand, Macron pointed out that “the aggressor is Russia,” correctly blaming Russia for the Russo-Ukrainian War. In their joint news conference, Macron focused on how a peaceful settlement to the Russo-Ukrainian War doesn’t “mean a surrender of Ukraine” and that there shouldn’t be “a cease-fire without guarantees…peace must allow for Ukrainian sovereignty.” As Trump begins to strengthen U.S. relations with Moscow and Putin, Macron focused on the importance of Ukraine’s sovereignty and denouncing Russian aggression. 

Macron and Trump have a long-standing history of meetings, with their first encounter occurring in 2017, which allowed Macron to learn how to be diplomatic with the Trump administration. When talking with Trump, Macron tries to find common ground between the goals of the U.S. and France and uses assertive body language but also corrects any statements he finds incorrect. For example, during their meetings, both presidents have used handshakes that end up being a mix of “camaraderie and control.” On Bastille Day 2017, Trump and Macron met in France and had a near thirty-second handshake when watching a military parade. Along with prolonged handshakes, the two often tap each other’s knees or arms in a way that’s “half-friendly, half assertive.” On Feb. 24, 2025, Macron referred to Trump as “Dear Donald” four times throughout their news conference in the White House, pointing out how France and the U.S. have a close relationship.

U.S. President Donald Trump salutes while French President Emmanuel Macron, 2nd right, his wife, Brigitte Macron, right, and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, left, applaud as they watch the traditional Bastille Day military parade (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Despite the numerous differences between Macron and Trump, they both agree that European countries should allocate more spending on their own security. In 2021, when the Biden administration was in office, President Macron said that Europe had to be “an autonomous partner” to the U.S. with its own security capabilities since “cooperation cannot be dependence.” Macron’s sentiments of European autonomy have become even more important as the Trump administration shifts away from the U.S.’s  traditional allies such as Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, and instead has grown closer to controlling regimes such as Russia and North Korea. This sentiment was highlighted on Feb. 26, 2025, when at a cabinet meeting, Trump stated that “The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States.” 

On Feb. 24, the U.S. opposed a U.N. resolution that demanded the removal of Russian forces from Ukraine and sided with nations such as Belarus, North Korea, and Sudan. Despie U.S. opposition, the resolution was passed with 93 nations voting in favor, 18 nations against, and 65 abstaining. Due to the U.S. opposing the resolution, the Trump administration faced criticism online from Republicans in Congress. Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska shared on social media that “The Trump Administration royally screwed up today on Ukraine” and Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah expressed online how he’s “deeply troubled by the vote” that “put us on the same side as Russia and North Korea.” Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell from Kentucky said that the refusal “to acknowledge Russia as the undeniable and unprovoked aggressor …reflects a gross misunderstanding of the nature of negotiations and leverage.” On a more serious note, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana quoted a judge from the 1946 Nuremberg Trials, saying “[t]o initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.” Cassidy’s statement comes at an uneasy time as the U.S. Vice President Vance, in a Feb. 2025 speech in Munich, Germany, had called on supporting far-right parties such as the German political party the Alternative, which had called upon Nazi sentiments. 

As the Trump administration aligns itself with authoritarian regimes like Russia, Macron’s statements made at the White House highlight Western Europe’s focus on re-affirming Europe’s commitment to regional security and Ukrainian sovereignty. By voting against the U.N. resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. appears to be setting a dangerous precedent for aggression coming from controlling regimes across the world. The Trump administration’s new U.S. foreign policy of supporting  authoritarian regimes even has members of the Republican Party criticizing the move.