US-France Ties: White House hosts President Macron for Trump's first state dinner

World
Europe

02:08

Bonding together, US President Trump's and French President Macron's body language suggests closeness and friendship.

The US president's actual words say something different.

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "It was a terrible deal, it should have never ever been made. We could have made a good deal or a reasonable deal. The Iran deal is a terrible deal. We paid 150 billion dollars. We gave 1.8 billion dollars in cash. That's actual cash. Barrels of cash. It's insane, it's ridiculous."

Macron came here to help convince Trump to stay in the Iran deal. This was Trump's strongest rejection of the nuclear pact. He could pull the US out of the agreement by May 12th.

Macron instead is trying to get Washington to stay in the deal by suggesting a separate agreement that will address US and French concerns about Iran's behavior in the Middle East - and it's ballistic missile testing.

EMMANUEL MACRON FRENCH PRESIDENT "What we have to work on, obviously, with Iran, and different parts of the region - the P5 - and our allies, is to find a fair deal where we can fix the overall situation. This is the only way to preserve sovereignty in the region."

Differences over trade, too. Macron defended the World Trade Organization - an organization the Trump White House has railed against.

On Syria, there are signs of some common ground. US troops won't be leaving until a regional force is put in place to stop the reemergence of ISIL. Both men indicated agreement - at least, for now.

NATHAN KING WHITE HOUSE For the French president and the French people, the honor of having the first state visit here of the French presidency has been somewhat offset by Trump's repudiation of what Macron came here to achieve. The public repudiation of the Iran deal will not go down well in Paris and other European capitals. Nathan King, CGTN, at the White House.