Macron advisor says Trump tweets 'written for Americans'

Trump labelled French president's call for a real European army as insulting

PARIS: An advisor to Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday dismissed a flurry of angry tweets from US President Donald Trump about his French counterpart, saying they were "written for Americans".

Macron's office declined to officially comment on the tweets, which come two days after Trump was Macron's guest at World War I centenary commemorations in Paris.

In the tweets, Trump criticises Macron's calls for closer EU defence integration, mocks his low approval ratings and attacks EU tariffs on US wine.

On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

One of Macron's advisors brushed the tweets aside, saying they were "written for Americans — otherwise, they would not be written in English".



"It's not for us to comment on content meant for his citizens," said the advisor, declining to be named, adding that relations between Macron and Trump were "not always easy but are enduring".

He pointed out that the pair had held talks during Trump's trip to Paris last weekend for World War I centenary commemorations, during which they attempted to defuse the row over defence.

"Donald Trump was among the first to arrive in Paris, where he reserved his first meeting for President Macron. These gestures have much greater value than tweets —we know how and why they're written," the advisor added.



"Beyond tweets, what matters is that they speak several times a week about issues affecting the direction of the world."

Trump had launched the first broadside against Macron on arriving in Paris last weekend, labelling the French president's call for a "real European army", and his characterisation of the United States as a potential security risk, as "insulting".

French officials said the row was based on a misunderstanding and that Macron was simply making a case for reducing Europe's military dependence on the United States.

In an interview with CNN on Saturday Macron expressed distaste for Twitter diplomacy.

"I always prefer having direct discussions or answering questions than making my diplomacy through tweets," he said.