Donald Trump has long had a reputation for being sexist, but his interaction with France’s first lady on Thursday is further evidence that the man is nearly incapable of having a proper interaction with a woman in power.
The US President is in France to mark 100 years since America intervened in the First World War, and his latest trip to Europe will provide respite from the mounting pressure back home over Russian interference in last year’s election.
Trump and First Lady, Melania, met French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at Les Invalides - the site of Napoleon’s tomb.
While Trump and Macron displayed more warmth than during their last meeting in May, the greetings exchanged between the two couples weren’t entirely comfortable
As Trump is wont to do, he handled the meeting with bizarre, vice-gripped handshaking:
Later, post-awkward handshakes, the quartet visited Les Invalides, where footage of the encounter captured Trump telling Brigitte Macron that she is “in such good physical shape” and “beautiful.”
Trump’s response to a woman who essentially choreographed her husband’s entire campaign is both “WTF?”-inducing and somehow unsurprising.
The exchange comes after an encounter with an Irish reporter in the Oval Office last month, when Trump interrupted a phone call with Irish Prime Minister Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to say the reporter “has a nice smile on her face, so I bet she treats you well.”
Trump’s sexist comments have not been limited to weird “compliments.” He has also remarked on Mika Brzezinski “bleeding badly from a face-lift,” called Rosie O’Donnell “fat” and “ugly,” and indicated that he could grab any woman “by the pussy.”
With reports from