Afrasianet - When U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to impose high tariffs on European countries protesting his efforts to buy or annex Greenland, French President Emmanuel Macron did not hesitate to express his rejection of this punitive policy. Macron's opposition to Trump is growing in many cases, the latest of which was his refusal to join the so-called "Peace Council" in the Gaza Strip. In general, Macron seems unreceptive to Trump's idea of being the sole leader of the world. In his first press conference after arriving at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and in response to a question about Macron's refusal to join the Peace Council, Trump said that this is not important, because Macron will not be in office in a few months.
Trump went further, when he posted a photo of a private, nicely written letter Macron sent him begging him to sit down and discuss Greenland. Macron, who called Trump "my friend" in his message, reminded his American counterpart of the many points of convergence between the two countries, such as Syria and Iran.
The French, who do not like the deliberate downplay of their president, are frustrated by the actions of Trump, who is often likened in the local media to a mafia boss. However, it is difficult to minimize the impact of high tariffs, let alone whether other punitive steps have been taken, such as the withdrawal of the US military cover.
Macron's team is betting that Trump will not be able to carry out his threats, and that the American institutions are still present and effective and capable of stopping him and preventing him from destroying the relationship between the two sides of the Atlantic. What is certain is that not all Americans approve of Trump's behavior and the way he implements foreign policy.
This method, which has come to be called "humiliation diplomacy," to force Trump's persistence in insulting and deliberately mocking leaders and presidents, was evident in his speech at Davos, and in phrases such as his statement that without the intervention of the United States, Europeans today would speak German, and that Europeans should be thankful and give back. The European dilemma, which includes France as well as others.
Ahead of Davos, Macron was making angry remarks, while Trump was posting on his platform using artificial intelligence a photo of the foreign and war ministers planting the American flag in Greenland, and another photo of him with European leaders in his office as the wall decorated a map of his country, whose borders included Canada, Greenland and Venezuela.
One of the reasons Macron and other European leaders have refused to join the Peace Council is that it has become more like a club for Trump's friends. Given Trump's intentions about jumping on legitimacy, represented by the United Nations and its traditional agencies, this council could turn into an alternative international institution that follows the Americans directly, making it dedicated to their interests.
Despite the global anger that is building around him, what is clear is that Trump has been able to impose himself on the international stage, and even on political theorizing terms. For example, "diplomacy of humiliation" and the "Donro Doctrine" (referring to the connection between Monroe and Donald Trump) and others, would not have existed without what the rebellious US president is doing.
On the one hand, France and the rest of the European countries know their borders, and they know that it is reckless to fall into the trap of a military challenge with the Americans, but on the other hand, the Americans, despite their strength, know that going ahead with a military conflict to annex Greenland does not only mean a break with Europe, but the end of NATO.
Another note that tells us about private messages, which have been revealed, as well as videos of phone calls, exchanged by Presidents Macron and Trump, which are published by one party or the other. This observation relates to the space that is now occupied by this kind of direct communication that is not typical of leaders.
This not only means the decline of the role of classical institutions such as the Foreign Ministries, which used to monopolize international affairs, but also means that the matter has become dangerous, especially since these messages are predominantly personal, which is reflected in Trump's style, whether through what he says or what he publishes on social media.
The danger is that sensitive international relations can be more about self-temperament than about an official opinion of the institution of the presidency or the state.
There is certainly something in common between Trump and Macron, Macron began his first presidential term by trying to win over Trump, as in 2017 he was talking a lot about the good relationship between the two countries, which will not be differentiated, but the differences in worldview quickly emerged between a liberal president who believes in Europe, and a right-wing president who believes in isolation and retreat only on what is Achieve the interest of his country. In recent years, Trump's criticism of Macron has increased through his posts on the "X" website, as he mocked his idea of creating a European army, considering it just an attempt to evade the economic and social problems that his country is experiencing, and he also mocked his recognition of the state of Palestine.
Trump did not only criticize and ridicule through what he wrote, but he deliberately imitated the way Macron spoke in a comedic way in his speeches and public meetings, while in Davos he did not miss the opportunity to mock Macron's sunglasses, which he was wearing for a health reason. This view certainly satisfies French arrogance, and confirms what political circles like to say, which is that France is one of the few countries that can be said to have some strategic independence.
This is what the newspaper "Le Parisien" argued, which considered that Trump's clear prejudice against Macron served the latter, as he showed him as a resistance to hegemony, especially with the appearance of Germany and Italy appearing less hardline about joining the peace council. In contrast to this rise in President Macron's shares due to this controversy, attention was drawn to the far-right alliance and to figures such as Marine Le Pen and her companion Jordan Bardella, who were proud of their relationship with President Trump and their support and understanding of his domestic actions stemming from his "nationalist" sensibility. Recent developments have forced right-wing figures in France and elsewhere to distance themselves from the tendencies of Trump, who appeared at the Davos forum as anti-European.
