From Iran to Venezuela,<\/a> from Greenland to the entire continent of Europe,<\/a> Trump is comfortable with saying exactly what he thinks and ruffling feathers and the stock market in the process. <\/p>\n European leaders in particular have struggled with how to deal with Trump in his second term, as he adopts a more aggressive \u2018America First\u2019 foreign policy. <\/p>\n This has led to some eyebrow-raising encounters on the world stage. French president Emmanuel Macron in particular has had a a fraught relationship with Trump, with the US president once accusing him of being a \u201cpublicity-seeking\u201d individual who \u201calways gets it wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n Below we look at the history of the alternating tensions and rapport between the frenemies. <\/p>\n Handshake Wars <\/p>\n Macron and Trump first met in 2017 at a Nato summit in Brussels during the American leader\u2019s first term in power, which he began in much the same way as his current one: by accusing the \u201cobsolete\u201d alliance of taking advantage of the US. <\/p>\n The power play between the two began on that day with an awkwardly intense handshake<\/a> that turned both their knuckles white. <\/p>\n The French president later admitted that his forceful gesture \u201cwasn\u2019t innocent\u201d and was a \u201cmoment of truth\u201d to signal that he would not make \u201csmall concessions, not even symbolic ones\u201d. <\/p>\n The following week, Trump told reporters: \u201cHe\u2019s a great guy. Smart. Strong. Loves holding my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n Le Bromance Era <\/p>\n The leaders enjoyed a brief rapport, with Macron making a trip to the US to visit Trump in April 2018. Experts noted that their body language appeared more relaxed and jovial and the two made complimentary remarks about each other. <\/p>\n But the period was short-lived and had fizzled spectacularly by November that year with Macron calling Trump\u2019s \u201cAmerica First\u201d policy \u201cinsane\u201d in the long-term and proposed the concept of a \u201ctrue European army\u201d that was not dependent on the US. <\/p>\n Trump hit out at comments Macron made about Nato being \u201cbrain dead\u201d for withdrawing US troops from Syria as \u201cvery, very nasty\u201d, \u201cinsulting\u201d and \u201cdisrespectful\u201d. He later toned this down by saying that the US and France had \u201cdone a lot of good things together as partners.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the end of Trump\u2019s presidency, the two didn\u2019t see eye-to-eye on key issues including Ukraine and made a series of subtle jabs about their differences. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell happened?\u201d Trump mocks sunglasses after Davos <\/p>\n Amid increasing tensions with Nato Trump chose to address the Davos forum in March this year by poking fun at Macron\u2019s choice to wear sunglasses due to an eye condition. <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s comments came after his intensifying threats to seize Greenland by force causing increasing frustration and impatience among his European allies. <\/p>\n He took aim at Macron by commenting on \u201cthose beautiful sunglasses\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell happened?\u201d He added to laughter from the audience, before he went on to commend Macron for acting \u201ctough\u201d in their meetings. <\/p>\n \u201cI like him, I actually like him. Hard to believe, isn\u2019t it?\u201d the US leader continued before he accused France of taking advantage of the US over prescription drugs for over 30 years.<\/p>\n Trump says Macron treated \u201cextremely badly\u201d by wife Brigitte <\/p>\n Weeks later Trump<\/a> mocked Macron in perhaps his lowest blow yet, <\/a>by saying he is treated \u201cextremely badly\u201d by his wife in a video briefly shared by the White House before it was deleted on 1 April. <\/p>\n \u201cI called up France, Macron, whose wife treats him extremely badly and he\u2019s still recovering from the right to the jaw,\u201d Trump said, seemingly referring to Macron being pushed in the face during an incident on a plane in Vietnam.<\/p>\n He was recounting a conversation he had with the French leader regarding military support, and said he had asked Macron to send assistance to the Gulf but was told France could only help after the conflict ended. <\/p>\n Trump criticised the hesitancy and said immediate support was needed rather than delayed action.<\/p>\n Asked about the remarks during a trip to South Korea, Macron said they were \u201cneither elegant nor up to standard\u201d in the aftermath. <\/p>\n The same month, Trump hit out at podcaster Candace Owens and said Macron\u2019s wife Brigitte was \u201cfar more attractive\u201d hinting at her feud with the Macrons. <\/p>\n US would be \u2018chic\u2019 as French-speaking country, Macron teases<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-688631528.jpg\")
The relationship between Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron was at one point dubbed \u2018Le Bromance\u2019 (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Macron](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-950716734.jpg\")
Macron and Trump appeared friendly during the French leader’s visit to the US in April 2018 (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-10-00-17.png\")
A short-lived ‘bromance’ imploded with a social media spat in November 2018 (X\/realDonaldTrump)<\/p>\n![\"Macron\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2256719486.jpg\")
Macron\u2019s striking sunglasses drew a lot of attention during the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos in January (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macron-shove-new.jpeg\")
A video appearing to show Macron being pushed in the face by his wife (Pool)<\/p>\n![\"King](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2273616207.jpg\")
King Charles III made jokes about Americans speaking French during his trip to the White House this week (Getty)<\/p>\n