CHINA/EU/FRANCE/TRADE WAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UN: “US President Donald Trump was ‘ranting and venting on trade’ to French President Emmanuel Macron during their bilateral meeting Monday [9-24-18] evening, according to a senior diplomatic source. Trump lambasted the European Union for its trade policies, saying it was worse than China — a complaint that the US president made to his French counterpart in an April meeting at the White House. The source described Trump as ‘going off’ on EU trade during his meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Trump said that the EU had to open up on agriculture — a continued point of contention in trade negotiations between the two entities. Macron was respectful to Trump and pushed back some on the topic but moved the conversation forward, the source said…Trump and Macron also talked about Iran and North Korea, during which Trump expressed his views in what the source described as “very predictable terms.” The next day, Macron delivered a pointed rebuke to Trump in his speech at the UN General Assembly, both directly and implicitly criticizing the administration for its policies on Iran, climate change, the UN, migration and Mideast peace.”
–Michelle Kosinski and Jennifer Hansler, “Trump ‘went off’ on French president during face-to-face meeting,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, September 26, 2018 2:42 am