Donald and Emmanuel, sittin’ in a tree…

From The Guardian's web page.

From The Guardian’s web page.

Huh….

I was hearing on the radio about how fond of each other Trump and Macron are, and it sounded like the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in a while.

I mean… Trump is the walking, talking embodiment of every ugly American stereotype that sets the Gauls’ teeth on edge, while Macron is so… continental. I mean, I’d pick the guy out of a lineup as the French guy, even if I’d never seen him before.

But now I see it must be true, based on all the kissing, hand-holding and other touching going on.

This is not the way a couple of straight guys usually interact. And, not that it matters, but we have every reason to believe they are straight, although the ways they relate to the opposite sex couldn’t be more different: Macron is married to a woman who’s older than his Mom, and Trump keeps trading in his wives for the latest model. (In fact, were you to see the four together, you’d be likely to assume Melania was Mrs. Macron and Brigitte was Mrs. Trump.) Which again raises the question: What on Earth do they have in common? I can’t imagine.

Why are these guys so fond of each other? Where is the advantage for either of them in the awkward buddy act? Is Macron working up to ask for the Statue of Liberty back? Do they need us to fight ze Germans again?

There are just so many levels on which I don’t get this…

From the BBC web page.

From the BBC web page.

6 thoughts on “Donald and Emmanuel, sittin’ in a tree…

  1. Richard

    I don’t recall you making similar articles with the previous President who nobody would have blamed him for switching teams given who he was married to.

  2. Bryan Caskey

    It seems pretty clear that Macron is trying to develop a close, personal relationship with Trump in the hopes that he can lobby him for some movement on issues important to France. I would imagine they are, in no particular order:

    1. The Iran Agreement;
    2. US presence in Syria;
    3. US tariffs that may hit France;
    4. The Paris climate accords.

    It’s pretty clear that Trump certainly is more open to accommodating people he sees as friends/allies rather than being pushed into a concession by someone he perceives as an adversary. (Which is pretty typical for most everyone, isn’t it?)

    My guess is that Macron figures he can get more with honey than he can with vinegar.

    1. Brad Warthen Post author

      “Which is pretty typical for most everyone, isn’t it?”

      Absolutely. But then most of us get to the age where we go to kindergarten and start learning, bit by bit, that the world is bigger and contains larger concerns than who we’re besties with…

    2. Bart

      Dead on point on all counts. Trump is especially vulnerable to be more accommodating to someone he perceives as a friend/ally than one he perceives as an enemy. This is who he is and always has been. Ask former Mayor Ed Koch of New York if your assessment is accurate or not.

      Macron will play Trump like a maestro conducting the Philharmonic.

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