While Europe is pushing back publicly against U.S. President Donald Trump over Greenland, the language appears softer behind the scenes.
Trump published a text message on Tuesday that he received from French President Emmanuel Macron, confirmed as real by Macron’s office.
Starting with “My friend,” Macron’s tone was more deferential than the criticism that France and a few of its European partner nations are openly voicing against Trump’s push to wrest Greenland from NATO ally Denmark.
Before broaching the Greenland dispute, Macron opted in his message to first discuss other issues where he and Trump appear to be roughly on the identical page.
“We’re totally in line on Syria. We are able to do great things on Iran,” the French leader wrote in English.
Then, he added: “I don’t understand what you’re doing on Greenland,” immediately followed by: “Allow us to try to construct great things.”
That was the one mention that Macron product of the semi-autonomous Danish territory that Trump covets within the two sections of message that Trump published. It wasn’t immediately clear from Trump’s post when he received the message.
Trump breaks with tradition
World leaders’ private messages to one another rarely make it verbatim into the general public domain — enabling them to project one face publicly and one other to one another.
But Trump — as is his wont across multiple domains — is casting traditions and diplomatic niceties to the wind and, in the method, lifting back the curtain on goings-on that sometimes aren’t seen.
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Trump also published a flattering message from Mark Rutte, secretary general of NATO, which the alliance also confirmed as authentic.
“I’m committed to finding a way forward on Greenland,” Rutte wrote. “Can’t wait to see you. Yours, Mark.”
Rutte has declined to talk publicly about Greenland despite growing concern about Trump’s threats to “acquire” the island and what that might mean for the territorial integrity of NATO ally Denmark. Pressed last week about Trump’s designs on Greenland and warnings from Denmark that any U.S. military motion might mean the top of NATO, Rutte said: “I can never comment on that. That’s not possible in public.”
Macron’s relationship with Trump
Macron likes to say that he can get Trump on the phone any time he wants. He proved it last September by making a show of calling up the president from a street in Latest York, to inform Trump that law enforcement officials were blocking him to let a VIP motorcade pass.
“Guess what? I’m waiting on the street because all the pieces is frozen for you!” Macron said as cameras filmed the scene.
It’s a protected bet that Macron must know by now — a 12 months into Trump’s second term in office — that there’s all the time a risk that a non-public message to Trump could possibly be made public.
Still, the difference between Macron’s private and non-private personas within the message that Trump published was striking.
Hosting Russia and Ukraine together
Most remarkably, the French leader told Trump in his message that he could be willing to ask representatives from each Ukraine and Russia to a gathering later this week in Paris — an concept that Macron has not voiced publicly.
The Russians could possibly be hosted “within the margins,” Macron suggested, hinting on the potential awkwardness of inviting Moscow representatives while France can also be backing Ukraine with military and other support against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Macron wrote that the meeting could also include “the danish, the syrians” and the G7 nations — which include the US.
The French president added: “allow us to have a dinner together in Paris together on thursday before you return to the us.”
He then signed off simply with “Emmanuel.”
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