The world two leaders met on Monday in Washington as the French president physically leaned over and grabbed Trump’s arm while he spoke about Europe ‘loaning financial aid’ to Kyiv
French President Emmanuel Macron publicly interrupted Donald Trump to correct another of the US President’s falsehoods over Ukraine.
The rare diplomatic rebuke today at the White House highlighted the underlying tensions in the two leaders’ discussions despite their outwardly cordial tone. It came as Trump revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept European peacekeeping troops as part of a potential peace deal.
While both leaders expressed a willingness to cooperate on the future of Ukraine, the meeting unfolded against the backdrop of Trump’s history of making misleading claims about the war effort.
As the US leader spoke about his proposal to use Kyiv’s mineral revenues to repay American assistance, he claimed that European nations were merely loaning financial aid to Kyiv.
“Just so you understand, Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They’re getting their money back,” Trump said, pressing his argument that US taxpayers would see no return. Before he could continue, Macron swiftly intervened, physically reaching over to grab Trump’s arm in a pointed effort to set the record straight.
“No, in fact, to be frank, we paid,” Macron insisted. “We paid 60 per cent of the total effort. It was like the US: loans, guarantees, grants.” Macron also took aim at Trump’s remarks about frozen Russian assets in Europe, pushing back against the idea that they were being used as security for loans to Ukraine.
“We have $230 billion in frozen assets in Europe, Russian assets. But this is not collateral of a loan because it is not our belonging. So they are frozen,” the French president stated.
Trump, appearing unfazed by the correction, offered a dismissive response. “If you believe that, it’s OK with me. They get their money back, and we don’t. But now we do,” he said, without elaborating further.
Trump emphasised his demand that Ukraine sign over hundreds of billions of dollars in mineral rights to repay US military aid. “It was a lot of money and we had nothing to show for it,” he said.
Macron also corrected Trump’s recent falsehoods while sitting at his side. “This is a responsibility of Russia because the aggressor is Russia,” Macron said of the war, even as Trump has taken to claiming that Ukraine “started” the conflict.
Trump said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky “may come” to Washington this week or next as the two countries are “very close” to a deal on rare earth minerals. He added: “I will be meeting with President Zelensky. In fact, he may come in this week or next week to sign the agreement and… which would be nice, I’d love to meet him.
“We’d meet at the Oval Office. So the agreements being worked on now. They’re very close to a final deal. It’ll be a deal with rare earths and various other things. And he would like to come, as I understand it, here, to sign it and that would be great with me.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said US and Ukrainian negotiators were “very close” at the “one-yard line” on such a deal. When asked if Putin would accept peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, Trump replied: “Yeah, he will accept that. I’ve asked him that question.
“Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war. He doesn’t mind. But I’ve specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with it.”
It remains unclear whether the European troops would be stationed inside currently Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine or within Kyiv-held territory to deter further airstrikes. The exchange between Macron and Trump underscored longstanding transatlantic tensions over Ukraine funding.
The US leader repeatedly questioned the level of European financial commitments compared to those of the States. Macron, on the other hand, has been a vocal advocate of continued support for Kyiv, pushing for stronger European engagement in the war effort.
While the two leaders managed to avoid any major public confrontation, the moment served as a reminder of the difficult path ahead as they attempted to coordinate their approaches to Ukraine’s future. Trump later added: “This could escalate into a third World War and we do not want that.
“This should never have happened. It should have never started. If it did start, it should have stopped after a week, not three years later.”
Attacking his predecessor Joe Biden, Trump added: “There was no communication with Russia until I came along.” The meeting between the two leaders came after the United States voted with Russia, North Korea, Belarus and 14 other Moscow-friendly countries against a resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine and calling for its occupied territory to be returned. The measure passed overwhelmingly in the United Nations General Assembly.