President Donald Trump on Tuesday reacted to a comment by French President Emmanuel Macron where he referred to the “brain death” of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
What Happened (Again)
Trump, who was talking to reporters ahead of the NATO summit in London, said that Macron’s words were “very, very nasty to essentially 28 countries,” CNBC reports.
According to Trump, it was “very insulting” of Macron to label NATO as brain dead.
“You can’t go around saying that about NATO,” Trump said.
Why Trump Is Angry (Again)
In an interview with The Economist in November, Macron had warned the European countries that they couldn’t rely on the U.S. to defend NATO allies.
“What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO,” Macron told The Economist. “Europe stands on the edge of a precipice.”
Another Trade War?
The U.S. President further went on to take a dig at the French economy, saying that it is experiencing a high unemployment rate.
Trump said France is trying to revive its economy by levying the digital tax on companies like Facebook Inc FB and Alphabet Inc GOOGL.
France’s Digital Services Tax has become a bone of contention between the two countries, ever since it was introduced in July.
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Monday said that it is considering imposing 100% additional duties on certain French import products worth over $2.4 billion.
Trump reiterated the intention to retaliate.
“They are starting to tax other people’s products, so we are going to tax them.”
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
