President Donald Trump joked that he enjoyed French President Emanuel Macron’s official statement during a bilateral meeting despite not being able to understand what he was saying.
“It sounded beautiful. I have no idea what he said. It sounded great,” Trump said after Macron’s statement, earning widespread laughter throughout the entire room. Macron laughed at Trump’s joke, as well, and explained he was remembering the president’s visit a year prior to Paris, France, for the Bastille Day celebration.
Trump’s meeting with Macron came on the sidelines of the annual NATO summit where he previously met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Trump has criticized NATO countries for failing to meet their defense spending obligations under the alliance, with a goal of hitting 2 percent.
Germany currently spends only 1.24 percent of its GDP on defense with France spending 1.79 percent. Only five countries out of 29 in the alliance meet the goal of 2 percent of GDP with the U.S. spending approximately 3.57 percent.