President Macron sees himself as someone who can influence Trump. During his visit to the White House on Monday, he carefully managed his interactions with President Trump, using phrases like “thank you” and “Dear Donald.” He expressed gratitude to Trump for accommodating him on short notice and subtly corrected him on a major global issue.
Macron’s urgent trip to Washington aimed to bridge the growing divide between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky, hoping to revitalize negotiations to end Putin’s invasion. European leaders are concerned about Trump’s criticism of Zelensky and his shift towards Moscow. The U.S. recently joined Russia, North Korea, and Iran in opposing a UN resolution condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Trump has recently adopted a more aggressive stance towards long-standing U.S. allies, suggesting the U.S. should acquire Greenland from Denmark and that Canada should become the 51st state. He also expressed his desire for a swift ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia, but stated that the U.S. would not continue aiding Ukraine without compensation.
“Our administration is making a decisive break with the foreign policy failures of the past administration,” Trump stated on Monday.
Trump has suggested that Ukraine should concede rights to its valuable rare earth minerals, arguing that U.S. taxpayers “deserve to recoup the colossal amounts of money that we sent” in military aid over the last three years.
However, Macron aimed to create a different perception. Standing beside Trump, he stated, “I think that no one in this room wants to live in a world where it’s the law of the strongest and international borders can be violated from one day to the next.”
This statement disregarded Trump’s recent comments that seemed to describe such a world. Macron’s strategy was intended to keep the fragile peace talks progressing. Despite some international criticism of Trump’s proposal regarding Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, Macron views it as a means of maintaining Trump’s, and therefore the U.S.’s, involvement in defending Ukraine, even if motivated by its resources. Macron mentioned that Zelensky would visit Washington soon to discuss the rare earth minerals deal, calling it a “very important step forward” and a “turning point” towards U.S. involvement in a peace agreement.
Notably, Trump made no promises regarding Ukraine or European security during the press conference. Instead, Macron took it upon himself to speak for the U.S., stating that any violation of a potential peace agreement by Russia would put it in conflict with “everyone involved in the peace process.”
Macron also praised the “deterrence capacity on the American side” against Russian aggression. This deterrence has historically been based on 75 years of U.S. commitments through NATO to defend Europe from a Russian invasion. However, Trump remained silent on these commitments on Monday.
The unusual dynamic between Trump and Macron began earlier in the day during a meeting in the Oval Office. When Trump claimed that European nations had only loaned funds to Ukraine and would be “getting their money back,” Macron gently corrected him, saying, “No, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60% of the total effort.”
Bradley Bowman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies suggests that the U.S.’s changed stance on Ukraine under Trump, compared to the Biden administration, has strengthened Russia’s negotiating position and its ability to threaten Europe.
“I worry that this administration, despite its good intentions to try to end the conflict, has undermined its own negotiating position in a way that we may regret,” Bowman says.
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