SHAKE DON
Macron crushes Trump’s hand AGAIN as Don threatens to send ‘some nice ISIS fighters’ his way in Nato clash
WITH their eyes locked on their presidential counterpart, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron crushed each other's hands in yet another power shake.
Their tense grip came as Trump bizarrely threatened Macron: "Would you like some nice ISIS fighters? I can give them to you!"
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The frosty warning came today as the American and French leaders met on the the sidelines of the Nato summit in London.
Unsurprisingly, Macron wasn't amused by Trump's hostile question.
The subject of ISIS fighters cropped up when Trump said many of those connected to the terror group, who remain detained in the Middle East, are from France, Germany and Britain.
Macron said he'd been looking at the French fighters on a case-by-case basis, with France already repatriating some jihadis.
Would you like some nice ISIS fighters? I can give them to you!
Donald Trump
Several more French ISIS suspects will be returned to France on December 9.
But he said the main problem was not the foreign fighters, but in finishing the war against ISIS.
An unimpressed Trump told Macron his response was one of the greatest non-answers he'd ever heard.
The rapport between the two was respectful but appeared cooler than in past encounters, reports the Associated Press.
It's not the first time the bitter rivals have had a power struggle in public - particularly when shaking each other's hands.
In June Macron shook Trump's hand so hard that he left a thumb print on it, leaving the American leader grimacing with pain.
And two years ago, Trump's handshake technique was in the spotlight after his manly farewell to Macron lasted a whopping 30 seconds.
Back in 2017, while visiting France for Bastille Day, after an apparent tug-of-war handshake the US leader then pulled the French President's wife, Brigitte, in for a bizarre three-person handshake.
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The men's combative stance at this week's Nato summit is also due to France being left bristling at America's threat to slap 100 per cent tariffs on French cheeses, Champagne and other products.
The U.S. Trade Representative proposed the tariffs on $2.4 billion in goods on Monday in retaliation for a French tax on global tech giants including Google, Amazon and Facebook.
Macron has previously said that it's not fair that digital revenues are taxed less than real-life revenues.
A fuming Macron told Trump on Tuesday that America's response was a trade attack on all of Europe.
The US leader said he thinks the two nations will be able to resolve the trade dispute, possibly through some "mutually beneficial tax".
He had said ahead of the Nato summit: "I'm not in love with those (tech) companies, but they're our companies."
BRAIN DEATH OF NATO
Earlier today, before the pair met, Trump lashed out at a story about Macron in the Economist, where he suggested that the Nato alliance was becoming obsolete due to a "brain death".
A grumpy Trump took aim at Macron, calling his comments "very nasty" and insulting to the military alliance's other 28 members.
"Nobody needs Nato more than France," Trump added.
Speaking ahead of a Nato summit tomorrow, the US President branded countries who don't meet the two per cent spending target as "delinquents" and went on to say they should be contributing as much as four per cent of GDP.
He claimed that there would be "World War 3" if he wasn't in charge of the US right now.
"Now we have the most powerful military, by far the most powerful country in the world - and helpfully we don't have to use it."
TRUMP: FRANCE WILL 'BREAK OFF' FROM NATO
Donald Trump said France is falling apart and will “break off” from Nato as he reignited his poisonous personal feud with Emmanuel Macron yesterday.
The US President baited his French counterpart in extraordinary fashion – mocking him over France’s high unemployment rate, struggling economy and the Yellow Vests protests.
He railed against Mr Macron’s claim Nato is experiencing “brain death” calling it “very, very nasty” as well as “very dangerous” and “very disrespectful”.
Mr Trump said: "Nobody needs Nato more than France, and frankly the one that benefits the least is the US."
And attacking Mr Macron’s record in office, he fumed: “It’s a very tough statement to make when you have such difficulty in France. They’ve had a very rough year.”
His remarks came as the country faces weeks of chaos with a general strike against the French President’s economic policies set to start tomorrow.
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Donald Trump's agenda
Tuesday December 3
The US president, staying at the US Ambassador’s residence in Regent's Park, held a series of meetings with other Nato world leaders.
He attended a fundraiser in Pal Land, and held meetings with France's Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.
He had tea with Prince Charles and Camilla.
Evening:
The Queen hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace for Nato Leaders to mark 70 years of the Alliance.
He then headed to No10 for another reception with other world leaders.
Wednesday December 4
The official programme on December 4 takes place at the Grove Hotel, Watford.
An official greeting by the Secretary General and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is scheduled to start shortly after 9am, followed by a family photo.
A working session of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Heads of State and Government is scheduled to start at 10:00 and last until 13:00.
The Secretary General will hold a press conference with Boris Johnson at 13:30.
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