Donald Trump has expressed his perspective on a viral video involving French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron, where it appeared that Brigitte ‘slapped’ her husband.
On May 25, the French President and First Lady arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, as part of their tour of Southeast Asia.
When the airplane door opened, Brigitte was seen placing her hands on Macron’s face in what appeared to be a ‘shove’, which seemed to catch him off guard.
As they descended from the plane, Macron attempted to offer his arm to his wife, which she seemed to decline. A lip reader suggested that their interaction appeared ‘icy’.
After the video gained traction online, a statement from the Elysee Palace explained, “It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh. It was a moment of closeness.”
Macron later addressed the rumors, explaining to reporters that he and Brigitte were merely ‘joking’.
He dismissed any notions of a ‘domestic incident’, saying: “My wife and I were squabbling, we were rather joking, and I was taken by surprise.
“[It has since] become a kind of planetary catastrophe, and some [people] are even coming up with theories.”
US President Donald Trump also offered his opinion on the matter.
During a press conference in the Oval Office about Elon Musk’s departure from DOGE, Trump was asked if he had any ‘world leader to world leader marital advice’ for Macron.
“Make sure the door remains closed,” Trump remarked. He then addressed the issue more seriously, mentioning that he had spoken to Macron afterwards.
“That was not good. I spoke to him and he’s fine – they’re fine. Two really good people, I know them very well. I don’t know what ‘that’ was all about, but I know it very well that they’re fine.” he added.
Trump was not alone in referencing the video at this press conference. Elon Musk also commented on it when questioned about his ‘black eye’.
He was asked if his eye was ‘ok’, to which he responded: “I wasn’t anywhere near France.”
He later explained that the bruise resulted from ‘horsing around’ with his son, X Æ A-12, after asking the child to ‘punch him in the face’.