Caught on Camera. Former United States President Donald J. Trump demonstrated boorish behavior towards French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife, Brigitte Macron. Back in 2017, he was the guest of honor in Paris, and at the welcome ceremony, the 77-year-old passed a cheeky compliment to the First Lady of France, which was highly criticized.
The Republican member’s inappropriate comment on Brigitte’s “physical shape” wasn’t received well by the media and public alike. He was standing in the marbled hall of the Hôtel National des Invalides in Paris with the first lady and his wife, Melania Trump, alongside the first lady of Paris, per The Guardian. The cameras caught Trump admiring Brigitte up and down.
The 45th president of the US commented, “You are in such good shape. She’s in such good physical shape. Beautiful.” The French president’s wife, who was standing next to Melania, accepted the “gross and inappropriate” comment awkwardly. Prior to that, the two shared an uncomfortable handshake as well.
Earlier in the day, Trump and the French first lady extended their hands to one another. Brigitte seemed hesitant and fumbled to make physical contact; Trump, however, seemed inappropriately ‘interested.’ After that, they embraced one another for the traditional farewell kiss on the cheek. Afterward, they rejoined hands while continuing their talk, per CNN.
Here’s that awkward handshake between Trump and France’s Brigitte Macron. pic.twitter.com/5Ci6lAWuV6
— Meg Wagner (@megwagner) July 13, 2017
Trump is no stranger to passing frequent remarks on female physical appearances, including the looks of former presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina, comedian Rosie O’Donnell, media figure Ariana Huffington, and models Kim Kardashian and Heidi Klum.
In another news, Trump drew flak for interrupting a telephone call with the prime minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar. He did that to comment on the looks of the Washington correspondent of Ireland’s national broadcaster. “And where are you from?” Trump asked Caitriona Perry. “Go ahead. Come here, come here. Where are you from?”
Video of the bizarre moment when President @realDonaldTrump called me over during his call with Taoiseach @campaignforLeo Varadkar. @rtenews pic.twitter.com/TMl2SFQaji
— Caitriona Perry (@CaitrionaPerry) June 27, 2017
Perry herself posted the awkward moment on Twitter. “We have all of this beautiful Irish press,” Trump passed the unrequired comment. He then told Varadkar: “She has a nice smile on her face, so I bet she treats you well.” Twitter went berserk after his indiscretion and called his comments “sexist.”
As far as Macrons are concerned, this isn’t their first awkward meeting. In May 2017, Trump and French President Macron shared a long, tense handshake during their first meeting in Brussels. He alleged the grip had a deeper meaning. “My handshake with him, it’s not innocent,” the 45-year-old said. “It’s not the alpha and the omega of politics, but a moment of truth.”
The farewell handshake between President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron lasted about 25 seconds https://t.co/NkwS5M4aoe pic.twitter.com/v9WxWm0Xvk
— CNN (@CNN) July 14, 2017
After the not-so-chivalrous act, the foursome- Trump, Melania, and the Macrons dined together at the Eiffel Tower, and the following day, they attended the annual Bastille Day parade.
A 2005 Access Hollywood tape rocked Trump’s presidential campaign where he talked about grabbing women by the crotch, as per Reuters. He also attacked MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski on Twitter. The former president called her “Low I.Q. Crazy Mika” and said she was “bleeding badly from a facelift” at a gathering at his Florida resort around New Year’s.