In a striking display of diplomatic theatrics, former US President Donald Trump publicly mimicked the French accent of President Emmanuel Macron while recounting a private phone call about pharmaceutical costs. The incident occurred during a White House roundtable event on Friday, where Trump detailed his efforts to force other nations to pay more for prescription drugs.
The Accented Anecdote: A Threat Over Tariffs
Adopting what he described as a Gallic accent, Trump claimed that when he called Macron, the French leader answered with, "Yes, Donald, Donald. Thank you so much for calling." Trump then said he warned Macron, "You're not going to like this call. You're going to have to get your drug prices up."
According to Trump's impersonation, Macron responded with a rapid, "No, no, no, no, no, I will not do that." The former US president, who signed an executive order in May on 'most-favored-nation' drug pricing, then issued a stark ultimatum. He asserted he told Macron that the US pays 13 times more for certain drugs than France does.
"Here's the story, Emmanuel. If you don't do it, I'm going to put a 25 percent tariff on all goods, wine, champagnes and everything else coming into the United States of America," Trump recounted telling the French President.
Macron's Alleged Capitulation and Subsequent Criticism
Trump continued his anecdote, still using the accented voice, claiming Macron immediately acquiesced. "[Macron] said, 'Donald, I would love to do this for you. It would be a great honour to do it,'" Trump stated, adding, "And that's where it began. And I went through country after country."
Despite the mocking impression, Trump insisted he holds Macron in high regard, saying, "I like him a lot. I hope he's listening, because he doesn't believe that, but I do. He's a nice man." The president had previously told a similar version of this story at the House GOP member retreat on January 6, prefacing it with, "I love the French accent."
However, the relationship appeared strained just days later. Macron accused the US of 'breaking free from international rules' and 'gradually turning away' from some of its allies in a speech to ambassadors at the Elysée Palace. He criticised a world where "multilateral institutions are functioning less and less effectively" and great powers are tempted to divide the globe.
A Wider Clash Over Trade and Global Rules
This episode highlights the ongoing tension in transatlantic trade and health policy. Trump's narrative centres on his long-standing grievance that American consumers subsidise lower drug prices abroad. His threatened use of 25% tariffs on French luxury goods like wine and champagne was a direct pressure tactic to realign costs.
Macron's pointed response frames the US approach as a retreat from the international order it helped build. The clash underscores a fundamental disagreement on how global trade and pharmaceutical markets should operate, with one leader employing personal negotiation and tariff threats, and the other appealing to multilateral rules and alliances.
