G7: Trump-Macron Tensions
Trump and Macron Bring Rocky History, Open Disagreements to G7 Summit
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Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron arrive at the G7 summit in France carrying nearly a decade of bad blood. What began with a famously tense handshake in 2017 has curdled into open public sparring — over tariffs, Ukraine, and now a war in Iran that has cracked the Western alliance wide open. AP News reports the two leaders now openly disagree on issues that go to the heart of the U.S.-Europe relationship.
The stakes at this summit are unusually high. The other G7 leaders — from Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, and Japan — are reportedly holding pre-summit meetings to present a united front against U.S. tariff threats, according to Reuters. The risk of a "broken summit" — one that ends without a joint statement — is at its highest point in decades.
From White-Knuckle Handshake to Public Insults
The Trump-Macron relationship started with a power play. At a NATO summit in Brussels in May 2017, Macron gripped Trump's hand so hard their knuckles turned white. He later told a French newspaper it was a "moment of truth" — a signal he would not back down. Two months later, Trump sat as guest of honor at Macron's Bastille Day parade in Paris. That was about as good as it got.
By November 2018, the cracks were showing. Macron called NATO "brain dead." Trump fired back on Twitter, mocking Macron's low approval ratings during WWI commemorations in Paris. The bromance was over. By Trump's second term, the tone had shifted from rivalry to something closer to contempt. Trump accused Macron of "weakness" on Iran and said France wanted to "live off the American taxpayer," according to WFMZ.
Iran War Refusal Becomes the Latest Flashpoint
The sharpest new wound is over Iran. After the U.S. launched military operations against Iran in 2025, Macron refused to commit French forces. He argued the U.S. caused the crisis by pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal. Trump has not forgotten it. He publicly criticized Macron for not joining the effort, calling it a test of France's commitment to global security, SF Chronicle reported.
Macron has pushed back hard. "Europe can no longer delegate its security to the United States," he said in an interview with Le Monde in May 2026. "Sovereignty is not a choice, but a necessity." That kind of language infuriates Trump, who sees it as Europe building a rival power bloc rather than pulling its weight inside the alliance.
Ukraine Aid Gap Splits the Alliance Further
Ukraine is the other open sore. The U.S. has slashed its 2026 aid package to $2 billion — down from $45 billion in 2023. Macron has tried to fill the gap, leading a European coalition that has pledged €75 billion through an EU "Sovereignty Fund," according to the European Commission. Trump calls that a provocation that drags out the war rather than ending it.
Analysts say the split is real and deep. "We are seeing the sunset of the Transatlantic alliance as we knew it," said Dr. Fiona Hill of the Brookings Institution. Germany's Der Spiegel has taken to calling this the "G6+1" summit — implying the U.S. is now an outlier, not a leader, among its own allies.
Tariffs and Trade Add Economic Pressure to Political Tension
Beyond diplomacy, Trump has threatened a 10% baseline tariff on all imports. He has also floated a special penalty on French luxury goods and wine in retaliation for France's Digital Services Tax. The U.S. trade deficit with France hit $15.2 billion last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Economists at Goldman Sachs warn an escalating tariff war could trigger a global recession.
France's defense spending has actually risen to 3.1% of GDP in 2026 — above Trump's long-standing demand — yet Trump keeps up the attacks, according to data from SIPRI. Meanwhile, 72% of French citizens now hold an unfavorable view of U.S. foreign policy, a Pew Research poll from June 2026 found. The numbers show how far the relationship has fallen.
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