Trump makes Macron Walk by Road: Banter or Trump’s Ego ?

It isn’t every day you see the French president hoofing it down a Manhattan sidewalk, but that’s exactly what happened when Emmanuel Macron’s motorcade ran into a bigger motorcade that was meant for the US President Donald Trump.

After delivering a fiery United Nations speech urging the world to recognise Palestine, Macron found his car stopped off on the road by New York police. The reason is that all the streets are being patrolled and frozen for Trump, who rolled through with all the sirens, black SUVs and large presidential convoy you’d expect.

Macron, never shy about showing his frustration, hopped out and tried to reason with the officers. “If you don’t see it, let me cross. I’ll negotiate with you,” he said, sounding more like a frustrated commuter than a world leader.

Then came the comic twist. Leaning on a barricade, phone in hand, Macron called Trump directly. “How are you? Guess what? I’m waiting in the street because everything is frozen for you,” he laughed.

In spite of this, he was still denied a car ride, Macron walked nearly half an hour through Manhattan with his security in tow, stopping for selfies and even a forehead kiss from a passerby, the kind of greeting more suited for a movie star than a leader of a state.

Was this just a funny exchange between two leaders with a sense of humor? Or was it a reminder of Trump’s ego, big enough to make a fellow president make him walk by the pavement? Either way, Macron’s New York walk proved one thing: in Trump’s USA, even the French president has to wait his turn.