French President Emmanuel Macron issued a fact check on President Donald Trump while sitting next to him in the Oval Office on Monday—a moment that appeared to leave the U.S. leader rolling his eyes.
Trump claimed Europe was “loaning” money to Ukraine and would force the country to pony up once a peace deal is reached with Russia, suggesting U.S. allies in Europe had less to lose because they would eventually “get their money back.”
Macron was having none of it. He touched Trump’s arm to quiet him and then set the record straight: money given to Ukraine to ward off a Russian invasion was theirs to keep. If any money is returned, he said, it would come from frozen Russian assets.
The French leader added that Europeans had footed the majority of Ukraine’s wartime economic support—not the U.S.
“No, in fact, to be frank, we paid,” Macron said to Trump. “We paid 60 percent of the total effort, and it was through, like the U.S., loans, guarantee, grants, and we provided real money, to be clear.”
Trump smirked as he was called out in real time and shook his hand to suggest the 60 percent figure was not precise. He then appeared to mouth “OK” and smirked as his French counterpart continued his fact-check.
Trump has softened his country’s stance on Russia’s Vladimir Putin this month, evidenced by the U.S. voting against a United Nations resolution Monday that called for a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine on the three-year anniversary of its invasion.
That position against the resolution put the U.S. at odds with many of its allies, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Canada, and instead aligned the nation with the likes of North Korea, Belarus, and Sudan.
Macron did not tamper his support for Ukraine during his afternoon visit with Trump, which included a joint press conference after they chatted and fielded questions together in the Oval Office.
The French president said outright that Russia was the conflict’s “aggressor.” That was the overwhelming U.S. government position on the conflict, too, until Trump recently did a 180. He has claimed in recent weeks that the war is the fault of Ukraine and its “dictator” of a president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Peace does appear to be on the horizon, however. Both presidents spoke in favor of a peace deal being reached Monday, adding that the distribution of valuable minerals from Ukraine and Russia may be included as part of an agreement.