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Editor's Note: Michael D'Antonio is the author of the book "Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success" and co-authored with Peter Eisner of "The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence." The opinions expressed in this comment are those of the author.
(CNN) - The strange man at the G7 meeting of the world's richest democracies, President Donald Trump, was tired at a farewell press conference on Monday, where he promoted the outcast Russian President Vladimir Putin, lashed out against Barack Obama, and once again he boasted about the great relationship he and his wife, Melania, have with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
In contrast, Emmanuel Macron emerged from the conference as an energetic leader who raffled the United States to have a diplomatic approach with Iran. The skillful conduct of the president of France in the G7, which had climate change as its main theme, was much more notable for Trump's clumsiness. As usual, Trump offered conflicting messages about the trade war that started with China, blamed his predecessors for his nation's problems, and did not realize that Melania Trump never met Kim Jong Un.
Macron and the world are very aware of Trump's inability to work well with others. In fact, in the last G7 Trump breached his commitment to ratify a joint statement in favor of the trade that everyone else had approved, and personally attacked the summit host, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him "very dishonest and weak. "
And so, when Macron planned this year's meeting, he decided that he would not have communicated any that organized the work, depriving Trump of the possibility of repeating his trick of the unwanted guest at the party.
The leader of France added to this defensive decision, which freed him to set a more unpredictable agenda, an offensive move of his own. To the surprise of many, he received the chancellor of Iran, Javad Zarif, in Biarritz on Sunday, opening the door to discuss business security with his counterparts.
France was one of the six countries that signed the agreement that froze Iran's nuclear weapons program in 2015, along with the United Kingdom, Russia, China, Germany and the US. Under intense monitoring, Iran complied with its part of the agreement and received, in return, more favorable trade agreements with the rest of the world. However, Trump considers Iran an enemy, and the deal was devised by Obama (also Trump's enemy). Thus he alienated the other signatory countries by abandoning the agreement last year.
Trump did not meet Zarif in Biarritz, but Macron's action seemed to have persuaded him to take a more conciliatory stance on Iran.
While Macron skillfully eluded him about Iran, Trump was also surpassed by his former colleague Boris Johnson regarding climate change. Considered by some to be the British version of Trump, Prime Minister Johnson greeted his American counterpart, but reminded the world that he does not agree with the president on climate change. Johnson expressed concern about threats to biodiversity and actually attended the G7 session on climate change, which Trump skipped.
The obvious insult of Trump's absence at that meeting was amplified by the misleading explanation offered for not attending. According to the White House press secretary, "the president had scheduled meetings and bilateral meetings with Germany and India, so a senior member of the government attended instead." But in fact, the two leaders who allegedly kept Trump away were in their assigned seats during the weather session. All someone had to do to determine the truth of Trump's claim was to review a photograph of the meeting, which circulated widely in the press.
An expressive photo also seemed to show a cunning Justin Trudeau with first lady Melania Trump. Thanks to the angle of Trudeau's approach when he greeted the first lady, the cameras seemed to have taken Mrs. Trump about to plant a big kiss on the movie heartthrob. Actually, it was just a kiss in the air, but the internet burned with comments about Melania Trump's supposedly rapt look.
As small as it may seem, and much of what is said on social media about Trudeau and the first lady is small, it is not surprising to see so much attention focused on the possible signs in the photos. Much of the world is exhausted by President Trump's behavior and his search for attention.
During the G7, the Chinese Foreign Minister joined the opposition offered to Trump, putting cold cloths on the president's claim that recent contacts between Beijing and the government suggested progress in a negotiation in the face of Trump's trade war. "We received two calls," over the weekend, Trump said Monday. "They want to reach an agreement." But a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a report to the press: "As for the weekend's call, I'm not aware of that."
Like the Chinese, G7 leaders seem to have discovered Trump's methods, and have designed ways to deal quietly with them. Trump likes to present himself as unique, even as a heroic figure who can do things that others don't. In Biarritz he suggested that if he, and not Barack Obama, had been the president when Russia invaded Crimea, he would have put a brake on him. He also strongly urged leaders to re-include Vladimir Putin in the club of the great nations, who was exiled from the G8 for his aggression.
No other member of the group has proposed bringing Russia back to the fold. And as Trump suggested, and the others resisted, his state of isolation was highlighted.
In fact, weak as the president looked in comparison to Macron, with his cowardly selfish comments at the press conference on Monday he showed his low relevance in the proceedings.
He added a shot of final venality when preparing to leave Biarritz: when asked about the G7 next year, he began selling the idea of doing the session at his resort in Doral, Florida, where, he said, there would be plenty of parking space. He followed up with a strange reference to the money he thought he had lost while serving as President of the United States instead of as executive president of the Trump Organization.
"It will probably cost me between $ 3,000 and $ 5,000 million to be president," Trump said, citing his example of lost revenue from public speaking. “I used to make a lot of money giving speeches. Now I give speeches all the time. Do you know how much I receive? Zero".
Trump mitigated the complaint raised by himself, suggesting that he is not so worried about lost money.
His display of Doral, along with his disrespectful absence in the climate change session, only served to emphasize how much deviates from accepted norms. Trump may still think he is a leader in mythical proportions, but with each passing day it becomes clearer that he is only a hero in his own mind.
(Translation of Mariana Campos)
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