Trump receives Macron: “My whole life consists of deals”

France and the United States have always found each other "on the right side of history," said President Emmanuel Macron at the White House. The statement raised the question: Will America continue to defend the values ​​of democracy and freedom? Or is the breakdown of the transatlantic alliance unstoppable? The French president spent the third anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine in the White House and the Capitol to gain clarity. And immediately after his return to Paris on Tuesday, he began to convey his assessments to European partners and NATO allies.

Macron believes that maintaining close ties to the next German Chancellor is particularly important, as the French President made clear during his trip. Germany and France, together with Great Britain, must take on a European leadership role in shaping the post-war period in Ukraine . Macron discussed with Trump the possible European security guarantees for Ukraine - and what America could contribute to this.

When Macron takes stock of the situation on the presidential plane after a long day in Washington , he is cautiously optimistic. "I really believe that today was a turning point in our discussions," Macron had said earlier at the joint press conference with Trump in the East Room. There has been "substantial progress." In an interview on Fox News, he said that he believes a verifiable ceasefire is possible in the next few weeks. Macron knew how to skillfully charm Trump, but also did not shy away from correcting him and distancing himself from him.

At the press conference, a French journalist from theAssociated Press (AP) asked a question. The fact that she was the one who was asked should be seen as a signal: The White House has actually banned AP from press conferences because the news agency has decided to continue calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico and not the Gulf of America as Trump wanted. The legal dispute over this is not yet over.

Trump looked back in Macron's presence. He recalled a dinner they had together on the Eiffel Tower with their "beautiful wives" on the French national holiday in 2017. As they were leaving, Macron told journalists in French about an agreement they had reached. Since there was no interpreter present, Trump just kept nodding. "He really tricked me," said Trump, "because when I read the newspapers the next day, I realized that it wasn't at all what we had said to each other!" The anecdote seemed a bit like a warning to the guest.

Macron wanted to see Trump's invitation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a positive signal. Last week, Trump described Zelensky as a "dictator without elections." This week or next week at the latest, Trump wants to meet with Zelensky in the White House and sign an agreement. He said that was progress. In many European capitals, it was considered possible that Trump would simply ignore the Ukrainian or force him to hold elections during the war in order to depose him, as in a Kremlin script. Macron, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Finance and Economics Minister Eric Lombard were able to gain an impression at a working lunch with Trump, Foreign Minister Marc Rubio and Finance Minister Scott Bessent that the planned agreement with Ukraine would be more advantageous for the country than the first version.

On the American side, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth , National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff also took part in the talks. Zelenskyj had rejected the first draft of the agreement during a visit by Bessent to Kyiv, thereby drawing the wrath of Trump.

The new version contains significant changes. It provides for a comprehensive economic agreement that goes beyond the exploitation of rare earths and critical minerals. The draft agreement does not contain any formal security guarantees. However, Macron's delegation noted carefully that it mentions Ukrainian interests and Ukrainian sovereignty. With a certain amount of caution, this could be interpreted as meaning that Trump would also be prepared to defend American business interests and Ukrainian sovereignty. Trump said quite openly at the press conference that he was interested in making a good deal for America. "I make deals. My whole life consists of deals," he said.

Macron's goal in Washington was to prevent Trump from making a "quick deal" with Russian President Vladimir Putin that did not include security guarantees. He now believes he has come a step closer to this goal. Macron repeatedly reiterated what a mistake the Minsk ceasefire agreements of 2014 and 2015 were. The agreements were negotiated under the German-French leadership of Angela Merkel and François Hollande with the approval of then-President Barack Obama. At the time, they failed to provide robust security guarantees.

At the press conference with Trump, Macron urged a considered approach. First, a ceasefire and then a peace agreement must be worked out. In Paris, the impressions coincide with those of Trump's former director of European and Russian affairs, Fiona Hill. In an essay for the magazine "Foreign Affairs", she recently explained how Trump ignored internal reports on Russia and preferred to listen to the advice of outsiders who had business interests in Russia. In Paris, diplomatic terms, there is talk of a lack of written culture. But Trump can certainly be influenced as long as the messages are clear. "We want peace, he wants peace. We want peace quickly, but we don't want a weak agreement," Macron said on Fox News .

What was striking about their joint appearances was that Trump always remained vague but friendly, while Macron made concrete demands. This was particularly evident when the two were welcomed in the Oval Office. Macron's day had begun with a surprise. Trump was persuaded to take part in the G-7 video conference and had left his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida earlier than planned. He invited Macron at short notice to consult side by side with the G-7 partners in his office. The two presidents used their free time afterwards for a confidential exchange. This contributed to the relaxed atmosphere in the Oval Office as the two answered questions from journalists.

Macron did not hesitate to contradict Trump when he claimed that Europe would get its money back from Ukraine anyway because it had only given loans. The French president gently touched Trump's arm and grimaced. "To be honest, we Europeans provided 60 percent of the aid to Ukraine," Macron said in English. "We provided real money," he said. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy calculated that Europe provided $138 billion, while $119 billion came from the United States.

Trump repeated the incorrect figure that the US had given Ukraine $350 billion - and looked skeptical when Macron corrected him. The 78-year-old American clearly has sympathy for the 47-year-old Frenchman, who could be his son. He called him a "very special friend" and criticized Macron for not receiving enough recognition for restoring Notre Dame Cathedral to its former glory within five years after the fire. The two men posed for the photographers with virile handshakes and raised thumbs, as if they had to continue the photo album of transatlantic friendship.

Macron also took time in Washington to talk to 101-year-old American war veteran Arlester Brown. The elderly man from Louisiana was one of the 73,000 American soldiers who landed in Normandy in June 1944 and liberated Europe. Macron told Trump about it. France and America are "the oldest allies," Trump said, but he left open what the alliance still means to him today. When asked about the security guarantees for Ukraine, Trump said: "Europe will make sure that nothing happens. I don't think it will be a big problem. I think once we have an agreement, there will be no more war in Ukraine." He added that the least he could do is have America as a backup if something happens. But he did not elaborate on what this offer exactly includes.

In Paris, they did not want to overestimate America's voting behavior at the United Nations. In the Oval Office, Trump had already refused to call Putin a dictator in Macron's presence. But the doubts have not been completely dispelled. Macron knows that they have to prepare for the worst case scenario: the rupture of the transatlantic relationship. Preparations, especially efforts in defense spending and the expansion of European arms production, must continue. But from Washington, Macron has brought back the impression that Trump's America and Europe still belong to the same camp. "Our cherished partnership has always been a driving force for freedom, prosperity and peace," wrote Trump.