French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday criticized Donald Trump, saying the American leader is jeopardizing NATO’s durability by publicly casting doubt on the United States’ commitment to its collective security obligations.
“Alliances such as NATO rest on what is left unsaid—on the trust at their core,” Macron told reporters in Seoul, where he is on a state visit as part of a broader trip across East Asia.
“If you cast doubt on your commitment every day, you destroy that trust,” he said, adding that U.S. officials are deepening the uncertainty by signaling that they “will not do this or that.”
“If you have signed a treaty, you do not question it every morning and keep repeating whether you will act,” Macron added. “You say nothing—and when the moment of crisis comes, you simply act.”
A day earlier, Trump escalated his criticism of the North Atlantic alliance, saying he is seriously considering the possibility of withdrawing the United States from NATO. The remarks came shortly after comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio—usually regarded as a supporter of the alliance—who described NATO’s response to the war in Iran as “deeply disappointing.”
Macron stressed that the consequences of the conflict are already being felt and noted that France had not been informed of the plans for a strike on Iran and is not taking part in the fighting.
European allies remain doubtful that Trump will actually withdraw the United States from NATO, but they fear his latest remarks are weakening the alliance at a particularly vulnerable moment.
Although such rhetoric is not new—Trump and those around him have long accused NATO partners of benefiting from U.S. protection without contributing enough—the latest hardening of his position creates additional risks as the war in Iran deepens and the search for those to blame intensifies.
Earlier this week in Tokyo, Macron met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The two sides agreed on the need for a ceasefire in Iran and for safe navigation in the region to be ensured.
Asked about Trump’s remarks after he had earlier claimed that Macron’s wife supposedly treats him badly, the French president said the comments were “neither elegant nor worthy of the office” and declined to comment further.