A number of different sources report Donald Trump and President Macron of France like each other but hold differing views on the Iran nuclear agreement and certain other matters. How, these sources ask, could they find common ground?
I suspect the answer is that each is working to further the interests of the country which elected him, and that inevitably those interests are not identical. France might like to maintain some kind of relations with Iran, whereas the U.S. has essentially no such interest.
Another obvious example: Europe has benefitted enormously by ‘allowing’ the U.S. to pay for its defense. Perhaps the U.S. would rather Europe paid its own way? I know Trump agrees.
So I judge what Trump and Macron have in common is a belief in furthering the interests of the country each heads. This means working together when those interest coincide, and opposing each other when they don’t.
With a weakened Angela Merkel in Germany, Macron has become the de facto leader of Europe. Zut alors
