How Trump and Macron’s ‘bromance’ soured over Ukraine as Putin drives seen wedge between the leaders

French President Emmanuel Macron came to the White House with a clear mission: Tell President Donald Trump that it was in no one’s best interests to bend to Vladimir Putin‘s will.

He deployed his best weapons, a white-knuckle handshake and an Oval Office lecture as he tried to set his American counterpart straight on the amount of aid Europe had sent to Ukraine.

But a White House press conference at the end of his visit suggested Trump had not been listening.

After telling the room that Europe would have to foot the bill for Ukraine’s reconstruction, he was asked if the U.S. would help. 

‘I guess it’s little strange question, because you asked whether or not we’re going to, on behalf of the United States, contribute to Ukraine,’ he said. ‘I mean, we’re in there for about $350 billion I think it’s a pretty big contribution.’ 

Not only is that number an exaggeration of U.S. support so far, coming at the end of Macron’s visit to the White House it offered a reflection of how far Macron’s star has faded in Trump world. 

Their bromance was once the talk of Washington. Photographs of them holding hands and grinning in the White House Rose Garden accompanied every story about U.S.-French relations.

‘We have to make him perfect,’ said Trump in 2018, after playfully brushing dandruff from his younger counterpart’s shoulders. 

‘He is perfect.’

Even when tensions were high, as they were then over keeping the U.S. in the Iran nuclear deal, their personal chemistry kept the diplomacy ticking over.

Macron had impressed Trump with the full military pomp of the Bastille Day parade, which encouraged the American president to think about having his own display of armed might.

It made him the perfect messenger from Europe to gently remind Trump that Russian aggression threatened much more than just Ukraine.

This time around, however, their meeting simply reflected just far apart Washington is from its European allies. 

In New York, the United States voted against a General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

In Kyiv, European leaders marked the anniversary at a ceremony while top U.S. officials stayed away.

And at the White House, Macron was well prepared when he arrived for his official welcome. 

The French president gripped his counterpart’s hand for a full 10 seconds as the two leaders grappled for dominance even as they smiled warmly for the cameras.

It was a milder version of the famous white knuckler that Macron deployed in 2017, in what he later said was designed to be a ‘moment of truth’ in their relationship. 

There had already been one slight by then.

Macron had spent the morning with Trump on a G7 conference call. But images from the video call showed how he was only afforded a thin sliver of the Resolute Desk, leaving him to perch awkwardly at the side of Trump in his usual seat.

Intentional or not, the result did not show two world leaders dialing in to their counterparts group of seven most industrialized nations. It showed one world leader and a sidekick.

Yet Macron was still able to claim the prize of being the first European leader to visit the White House since Trump resumed office. Britain’s prime minister follows on Thursday.

They share the same goal, to urge Trump to consider their voices and that of Zelensky, before giving further ground to the autocratic leader in Moscow.

Europe is terrified by the way Trump has suggested it was time for Putin to rejoin the G7, and worry that they may not in future be able to rely on American deterrence for protection. 

Several times during the day, the American president spelled out why he is in such a hurry to achieve peace.

He described historic cities turned to rubble and ‘an entire generation of Ukrainians and Russian men has been decimated.’

‘It’s time to end this bloodletting and restore peace, and I think we’re going to do it,’ he said at the joint press conference. ‘We’ve had some great conversations, including with Russia, since my return.’ 

It was left to Macron to point out that not all peaces are the same. 

‘This peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine,’ he said.

He repeatedly emphasized the need for any deal to be verifiable and to come with the sort of security guarantees that would prevent Russia simply reigniting the conflict when it wanted to. Europe was ready to offer troops and guarantees, he added, but there needed to be U.S. buy-in too.

‘A lot of my European colleagues are ready to be engaged,’ he said. ‘But we do need this American backup because this is part of the credibility of the security guarantees.’

It all suggested that Trump was not for turning, or even slowing, in his helter-skelter race for a deal.

Macron betrayed his irritation during one extraordinary moment in the Oval Office, when he corrected his host in front of the cameras.

‘Just so you understand, Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They’re getting their money back,’ Trump was saying as he tried to make the case for a fresh deal to recoup U.S. costs.

Macron grimaced and leant back before reaching forward to grab Trump’s arm.

‘No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60 percent of the total effort,’ he said as Trump smiled wanly. ‘It was like the US: Loans, guarantees, grants.

It is a brave man who corrects Trump on camera in the Oval Office. Macron may have made it even harder for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer when he visits on Thursday as the latest European leader to get Trump to think again.