Trump lashes out at Macron over NATO burden share, trade, nationalism

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday attacked his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron over the NATO burden share, bilateral trade deficit and Macron's remarks against nationalism.

Accusing Macron of suggesting building its own army to protect Europe against the United States, Trump tweeted that "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 US came along," he said. "Pay for NATO or not!"

Speaking of trade, Trump said that "France makes excellent wine, but so does the US".

"The problem is that France makes it very hard for the US to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the US makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!" he said.

Noting that Macron "suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%," Trump said the French leader "was just trying to get onto another subject."

"By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!" he added.

This was not the first time Trump has attacked Macron recently. Before arriving in Paris on Nov. 9, he tweeted that Macron's suggestion of building military to protect Europe from the United States was "very insulting."

"But perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly!" he said.

After returning from France, he again tweeted that "never easy bringing up the fact that the US must be treated fairly, which it hasn't, on both Military and Trade."

"We pay for LARGE portions of other countries military protection... hundreds of billions of dollars, for the great privilege of losing hundreds of billions of dollars with these same countries on trade," he said. "I told them that this situation cannot continue - It is, and always has been, ridiculously unfair to the United States."

"Massive amounts... of money spent on protecting other countries, and we get nothing but Trade Deficits and Losses. It is time that these very rich countries either pay the United States for its great military protection, or protect themselves... and Trade must be made FREE and FAIR!" Trump added.

French President Emmanuel Macron's office on Tuesday papered over US President Donald Trump's series of tweets criticizing France's trade and security policies, saying the two leaders maintained their bilateral ties.

"The relationship between Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump is not always easy, but it is continuous," a source from the Elysee was quoted as saying by BFMTV news channel.

Macron on Sunday called on world leaders, gathering in Paris to join a global tribute to soldiers killed during World War I, to promote multilateral policy and to avoid the errors that led to the outbreak of the grinding conflict in 1914-1918.

He also reminded the world that "during these four years, Europe had come close to committing suicide. 10 million dead, 6 million injured," sounding the alarm for rising nationalism, which, according to him, would jeopardize fragile world peace.

One hundred years after World War I, the two-day Paris Peace Forum following the Armistice Day commemorations brought together 70 heads of state and government, civil society and regional and international organizations to promote multilateralism and collective action to preserve calm over the globe.

With notable exception, Trump did not attend the forum.

While in France, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said that "multilateralism is no longer just a hope, it is more than ever a necessity."

"Unless we have a multilateral system, the risk will be that we go back to relations based on strength only, and a spiral of budding conflict," he said.

Since assuming office last year, the Trump administration has long accused Europe of failing to pay enough for NATO, and of causing large trade deficit on the US side through unfair trade practices. The traditional cross-Atlantic alliance has also been tested by differences over the Iran nuke deal, the Paris climate agreement, and the status of Jerusalem, among others.