Donald Trump jabs Emmanuel Macron over comments about his early departure from G7

PARIS (AP) — What began with a handshake evolved into turbulence at 33,000 feet as one of diplomacy's oddest relationships took another strange turn.

The political chemistry that once defined the Trump–Macron dynamic — immortalized by a famously tense 29-second handshake in 2017 — was nowhere to be seen in midair Tuesday when U.S. President Donald Trump blasted his French counterpart on social media.

As Trump departed the G7 summit early, French President Emmanuel Macron tried to reframe the exit as strategic.

“There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange,” Macron told reporters, suggesting the U.S. might help broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

But aboard Air Force One, Trump responded with a swipe that accused Macron of showboating.

“Wrong! He is ‘publicity seeking’ and always gets it wrong," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site. "He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington… Much bigger than that. Stay tuned!”

The takedown punctured Macron’s narrative and revealed a rupture in a relationship that has featured theater, flattery and touch.

Macron, who once styled himself as a “Trump whisperer,” has long used charm and proximity to try to manage the unpredictable U.S. leader, often contrasting himself with more openly critical peers like Germany’s Angela Merkel. But those efforts are far from foolproof.

But as Trump became increasingly aggressive in his comments about Iran, urging Tehran's “ UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” Macron eventually offered a blunt counter assessment, saying a push for regime change in Iran would spark “chaos” and further destabilize the Middle East.

“We do not want to see Iran acquire nuclear weapons or ballistic capabilities,” Macron told reporters at the G7. “But I believe the greatest mistake today would be to pursue regime change in Iran through military means, as that would lead to chaos."

Recalling the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, he continued: “Does anyone think what was done in Iraq in 2003 was a good idea? Does anyone think what was done in Libya last decade was a good idea? No.”

Macron also noted that he'd had ″the best relations in the world″ with Trump during the U.S. president's first term.

Their diplomatic style has never been purely transactional — and has often been tactile. From their earliest encounters, physical gestures have been part of the pageantry: Trump’s firm pats and arm-yanks, Macron’s theatrical poise and instinctive touches.

The roots of their rapport run deep. In 2017, Macron dazzled Trump with a Bastille Day parade, formal dinners and white-knuckle handshakes. A viral 29-second grip — knuckles white, jaws clenched — set the tone for a relationship of theatrical dominance.

The physical choreography evolved over the years: Trump yanking Macron’s arm at the Élysée, Macron placing a steadying hand on Trump’s thigh in Washington. Their February 2025 White House meeting brought a refined version of the dance as Macron delivered corrections with charm, countering Trump’s Ukraine comments while laughing at Fort Knox jokes.

Trump joked about Macron’s marriage last month after a video of Brigitte Macron playfully pushing her husband surfaced. “Make sure the door remains closed,” he quipped, before adding: “They’re fine.”

But the chill had already begun to set in.

This month, Macron traveled to Greenland — a territory Trump has floated buying — to express solidarity with Danish sovereignty.

“This is not what is done between allies,” Macron said, in a message to Trump.

The G7 summit, intended to project Western unity on Russia and Iran, instead showcased fracture. Trump skipped the final sessions, refused to back new Russia sanctions, and warned Tehran to “immediately evacuate.”

Macron — who announced Tuesday that France will host the next G7 summit in 2026 at the lakeside Alpine resort of Evian-les-Bains — tried to frame the early exit as useful. Trump’s one-line rebuttal shut that down.

Trump’s clash with Macron wasn’t the only unscripted moment to puncture the summit’s polished exterior. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was filmed rolling her eyes as Macron whispered in her ear during a roundtable — a clip that quickly lit up social media. It was a flash of visible tension at a gathering meant to project unity amid war, economic uncertainty and global unrest.

Later aboard Air Force One, Trump softened his tone. When reporters asked about the outburst, he replied: “That was Emmanuel — nice guy but he doesn’t get it right too often.”

The pivot was familiar.

“It’s difficult to be confident about any clear arc in President Trump’s reactions to people or events,” said Dana Allin, U.S. policy expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “He tends to be disinhibited — he says what’s on his mind, and that can change quickly.”

There was no handshake this time. No shoulder clap. Just a flick of the thumb — and a public slap across the alliance.

The dynamic, Allin suggests, reflects a shift in how Europe engages with Washington. In Trump’s first term, many European leaders treated his behavior as a storm they could wait out.

“Now it seems like a more permanent thing,” Allin said.

Associated Press writer Martin Silva contributed to this report.

France's President Emmanuel Macron arrives during the official welcome of the G7 Summit, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Kananaskis, Canada. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

FILE - President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron during a meeting at the U.S. Embassy, May 25, 2017, in Brussels. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

From left, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump, pose during a group photo at the G7 Summit, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Kananaskis, Canada. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while flying aboard Air Force One en route from Calgary, Canada to Joint Base Andrews, Md., late Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lamar Jackson thought it was over. That the Baltimore Ravens' unwieldy season would end up in a familiar spot: the playoffs.

Then, rookie kicker Tyler Loop's potential game-winning field goal from 44 yards out drifted a little right. And then a little further right. And then a little further right still.

By the time it fluttered well wide of the goalposts, the playoffs were gone. So was Jackson's certainty after a 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday night sent the Ravens into what could be a turbulent offseason.

“I'm definitely stunned, man,” Jackson said. “I thought we had it in the bag. ... I don't know what else we can do.”

Jackson, who never really seemed fully healthy during his eighth season as he battled one thing after another, did his part. The two-time NFL MVP passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, including two long connections with Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter that put the Ravens (8-9) in front.

It just wasn't enough. Baltimore's defense, which played most of the second half without star safety Kyle Hamilton after Hamilton entered the concussion protocol, wilted against 42-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards, including a 26-yard flip to a wide-open Calvin Austin with 55 seconds to go after a defender slipped, symbolic of a season in which Baltimore's defense only occasionally found its form.

Still, the Ravens had a chance when Jackson found Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain on fourth down from midfield. A couple of snaps later, the 24-year-old Loop walked on to try to lift Baltimore to its third straight division title.

Instead, the rookie said he “mishit” it. Whatever it was, it never threatened to sneak between the goalposts.

“It’s disappointing,” Loop said.

Loop was talking about the game. He might as well have been talking about his team's season.

The Ravens began 1-5 as Jackson dealt with injuries and the defense struggled to get stops. Baltimore found a way to briefly tie the Steelers for first in late November, only to then split its next four games, including a home loss to Pittsburgh.

Still, when Jackson and the Ravens walked onto the Acrisure Stadium turf on Sunday night in the 272nd and final game of the NFL regular season, Baltimore was confident. The Ravens drilled Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago behind the ever-churning legs of running back Derrick Henry.

When Henry ripped off a gain of 40-plus yards on the game's first offensive snap, it looked like it was going to be more of the same. While Henry did rush for 126 yards and joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as the only running backs in NFL history to have five 1,500-yard seasons, he was less effective in the second half.

Even that first run was telling of what night it was going to be, as an illegal block by wide receiver Zay Flowers cost Baltimore some field position. The Ravens ended up scoring on the drive anyway, thanks to a 38-yard fourth-down flip from Jackson to a wide-open Devontez Walker, but it started a pattern that was hard to shake as several steps forward were met with one step back on a night the Ravens finished with nine penalties for 78 yards.

“We were having a lot of penalties, which kept stopping drives," Jackson said. “But I'm proud of my guys because we kept overcoming. We kept overcoming adversity and situations like this. Divisional games (can) be like that sometimes.”

Particularly when the Steelers are on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. And while a handful of them have been in late-season matchups with the Ravens already assured of reaching the playoffs, the reality is the Steelers have been able to regularly do something that most others have not: found a way to beat Jackson.

“It comes down to situations like this,” Jackson said. “Two-point conversion one year. Field goal another year. And again this year. Just got to find a way to get that win here.”

And figure out who is going to be around to help get it.

Head coach John Harbaugh's 18th season in Baltimore ended with the Ravens missing the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. Jackson turns 29 this week and is still one of the most electric players in the league.

Yet Harbaugh and Jackson have yet to find a way to have that breakthrough season that Harbaugh enjoyed with Joe Flacco in 2013 when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.

There was hope when the season began that the roadblocks that have long been in the franchise's way — Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes chief among them — would be gone.

While the Ravens did get their way in a sense — the Chiefs will watch the playoffs from afar for the first time in a decade after a nightmarish season of their own — it never all came together.

Jackson declined to endorse Harbaugh returning for a 19th season, saying the loss was still too fresh to zoom out on what it might mean for the franchise going forward.

Harbaugh, for his part, certainly seems up for running it back in the fall.

“I love these guys,” he said afterward. “I love these guys.”

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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, right, hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks with an offical during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, left, greets Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)