Trump Will Work With Le Pen Or Macron, Says Aide
US President Donald Trump will work with “whoever the people of France decide to elect” as their leader, his spokeswoman said Friday.
The comment offered no support to either Emmanuel Macron, who polls favour to be France’s next president after elections on Sunday, or his far-right rival Marine Le Pen, whom Trump has hinted should benefit from attack-related security fears.
“The president is committed to working with leaders across the globe to combat a whole host of issues and certainly would do that with whoever the people elect,” Trump’s spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.
She said, however, that “I have not had a conversation about whether he supports any particular candidate.”
The non-commitment contrasted with the position of Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, who this week released a video statement backing Macron, a centrist who he said “appeals to people’s hopes and not their fears.”
Le Pen was one of the first politicians to congratulate Trump on his election last November, and she has lauded his protectionist stance on trade.
She has also traveled to Moscow, where she met Russian President Vladimir Putin and was photographed with him.
Trump has said he hoped for improved relations with Putin, though both men have admitted that US-Russia ties have worsened in recent months.
AFP
