The French government offered an indignant reply to President Donald Trump’s Tuesday morning Twitter broadside, saying it was indecent to attack them on the third anniversary of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks.
REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
“Yesterday was Nov 13, we were commemorating the murder of 130 of our people,” French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told Reuters, adding, “so I’ll reply in English: ‘common decency’ would have been appropriate.”
Trump expressed anger at Macron’s calls for a European army independent of U.S. control via NATO on twitter, and personally attacked Macron’s speech during his recent trip to Paris.
“Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia,” Trump tweeted. “But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two – How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!”
Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two – How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two – How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
……MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
Macron delivered a speech at the centennial ceremony honoring the end of World War I saying nationalism is the “betrayal of patriotism” and calling for a rejection of “selfishness of nations only looking after their own interests. Because patriotism is exactly the opposite of nationalism.”
The speech was widely regarded as a shot at Trump who recently on the 2018 midterm campaign trail identified himself as a nationalist.