Seoul Gazette - Macron and Trump rekindle Le Bromance -- with a touch of tension

French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump rekindled the most touchy-feely bromance in world politics as they met Thursday for talks on Ukraine.

The pair have a long history of public displays of affection dating back to Trump's first term in power -- and as Macron returned for Trump 2.0 it seemed like another lovefest.

But as they met in the Oval Office, tensions over Trump's sudden pivot to Russia over the Ukraine war bubbled up to the surface, even if Macron softened the blow with yet another physical gesture.

The French president -- unusually for any visitor to the Oval Office -- interrupted his 78-year-old counterpart when Trump repeated a false claim that Europe was merely loaning Ukraine money and would get it back.

"No, in fact, to be frank" said Macron, touching his US counterpart's arm to stop him mid-sentence, "we paid 60 percent of the total effort and it was -- like the US -- loans, guarantees, grants."

Trump smirked and said after Macron spoke: "If you believe that, it's ok with me."

- 'Smart customer' -

But while they don't see eye to eye on Ukraine, they still only seemed to have eyes for each other.

"He's a smart customer," said Trump, tapping Macron affectionately on the upper arm after telling a story about a meeting in Paris, when he discovered that what the French leader had been saying in his native tongue about a trade deal was not what he'd told him.

Macron responded by gripping Trump's hand and they laughed together, with the 47-year-old even appearing to wipe a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye.

On the way into the West Wing they shared an embrace and another crushing handshake.

Then in their joint press conference, they broke off after their opening statements to share yet another grip and grin, before heaping compliments on each other.

Macron hailed their "friendship from your first term" while Trump lavished praise on the Frenchman for the restoration of fire-damaged Notre-Dame cathedral.

"Say hello to your beautiful wife," Trump said at the end of the press conference.

International diplomacy is always heavy with symbolism, but Macron and Trump have always been unusually blatant in the way they use body language as a power play.

Since they first met, Macron has appeared keen to resist Trump's habit of using overbearing handshakes to put other world leaders -- both literally and figuratively -- off balance.

- 'Friendly but firm' -

The mother of all handshakes came when they met for the first time in Brussels in 2017, the year they both started their first presidential terms.

Grimacing with effort, the much younger Macron grabbed Trump's hand until the US president was forced -- twice -- to release his grip.

Photos showed white finger marks on Trump's hands left by Macron's intense palming.

Their charm offensive continued a year later when Trump took Macron's hand and practically dragged him into the Oval Office in 2018.

But Macron's bromantic overtures failed to persuade Trump to stay in the Paris climate agreement and an international deal with Iran to limit its nuclear program.

The relationship cooled during Trump's wilderness years, but Macron was quick to strike after his reelection in November 2024.

Trump was delighted to be invited to attend the reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral in December, an early reintroduction to the world stage.

True to form, the leaders engaged in yet another muscular, awkward handshake -- this time lasting a full 17 seconds.

British journalist Piers Morgan, a long-term friend of Trump, said their latest display at the White House showed that Macron knew what he was doing.

"No world leader handles Trump as well as Macron. Friendly but firm, respectful but not afraid to stand up to him when he thinks he's wrong. And Trump respects him for it," Morgan said on X.

W.Nam--SG