His wife treats him badly: Trump mocks Macron, says he didn't help US in Iran war
Donald Trump's comment referred to a May 2025 video in which Brigitte Macron seemed to shove the French President's face during a Vietnam trip, a clip Emmanuel Macron had earlier labelled as 'disinformation'.
US President Donald Trump delivered a sharp personal jab at his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, mocking both him and his wife Brigitte Macron while recounting a phone conversation about the US-led conflict in Iran.
Trump described Macron as "still recovering from the right to the jaw” and added that his wife "treats him extremely badly".
"I call up France, Macron, whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw," Trump said during a private lunch. The comment was captured on a video briefly posted on the White House’s YouTube channel before it was blocked.
The remark referenced a May 2025 video showing Brigitte Macron appearing to push the French President's face during a Vietnam visit, footage Macron previously dismissed as 'disinformation'.
During the lunch, Trump claimed he asked France for help in the Gulf, saying, "We'd love to have some help in the Gulf even though we are setting records on knocking out bad people and knocking out ballistic missiles. If you could, could you please send ships immediately?"
He then imitated Macron's answer: "'No no no, we cannot do that, Donald. We can do that after the war is won'. I said, 'No no, I don't need after the war is won Emmanuel'".
Trump used the event to criticise Nato, calling the alliance a "paper tiger" and warning that it "won't be there if we ever have the big one". "So I learnt about Nato. Nato won't be there if we ever have the big one, you know what I mean by the big one," Trump added.
Recently, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed this sentiment, suggesting Washington may reassess its Nato commitments once the Iran war concludes, reinforcing the administration’s critique of allied burden-sharing.
"We are going to have to reexamine the value of Nato and that alliance for our country," Rubio said in an interview with Fox News.
France, meanwhile, has insisted it was neither consulted nor involved in the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
"France, which has not been consulted and is not part of this military offensive launched by the United States and Israel, is not taking part in it," Macron said in an interview with a Japanese broadcaster.