President Trump lashed out at his French counterpart over military spending and trade on Tuesday, two days after returning from a trip to Paris that exposed the underlying tensions between the leaders.
In a series of tweets, Mr. Trump criticized French President Emmanuel Macron over his struggle to overhaul France’s economy, castigated Mr. Macron’s suggestion that Europe needs to be more self-sufficient in its own defense and called for France to contribute more to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France?” Mr. Trump wrote. “They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!”
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Mr. Macron’s office declined to comment on the Twitter posts. The only post in Mr. Macron’s Twitter feed on Tuesday morning was a message commemorating the anniversary of the Nov. 13, 2015, terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.
Mr. Trump’s Twitter outburst came on the heels of his trip to Paris to mark the 100th anniversary of the World War I armistice. At a commemoration ceremony at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe, Mr. Macron delivered a pointed warning against the dangers of rising nationalism.
With Mr. Trump looking on, the French leader denounced nationalism as countries acting in their self-interest and a “betrayal” of patriotism. Mr. Trump, in an October campaign rally, asserted: “I’m a nationalist.”
Mr. Macron also defended multilateral institutions like the United Nations and the European Union, as well as the world order underpinned by international cooperation that emerged in the wake of two world wars.
That system has been put to the test by Mr. Trump and his “America first” agenda as well as by the rise of authoritarian leaders such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey—all of whom were present for the ceremony.
Mr. Trump’s broadsides against the French president signal the further deterioration of their relationship, which blossomed in a July 2017 visit by the president to Paris.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump criticized France for making it “very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France,” saying, “France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S.”
“Not fair, must change!” the president wrote.
According to the Wine Institute, a U.S. trade body, EU import tariffs on a bottle of wine run between 11 cents and 29 cents depending on alcohol content, while U.S. import tariffs are 5 cents for still wine and 14 cents for sparkling.
Mr. Trump also took aim at Mr. Macron’s approval rating and French unemployment.
“The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject,” Mr. Trump wrote. “By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people—and rightfully so!”
He added: “MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!”
A poll conducted by Kantar Sofres found Mr. Macron’s approval rating at 26% at the end of last month. The unemployment rate in France stood at 9.1% in the second quarter of the year.
Mr. Macron is in the middle of a contentious drive to overhaul France’s economy and make it more business friendly. His approval ratings have tumbled from 44% at the start of the year, according to Kantar Sofres. His fledgling centrist party Republic on the Move maintains a strong majority in parliament, but the French president has been shedding prominent supporters on the left, due in part to his pro-business agenda.
Tensions between Messrs. Trump and Macron were running high going into the Paris trip.
Days before Mr. Trump’s visit, Mr. Macron gave an interview to French radio in which he described Europe as the “main victim” of Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw from the landmark 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Mr. Macron also called for the creation of a “true European army.”
Landing in Paris on Friday, Mr. Trump wrote in a Twitter post that he considered Mr. Macron’s comments “very insulting.” Mr. Trump has frequently demanded more military spending from European members of NATO and questioned the alliance’s benefits for the U.S.
The two leaders then held a tense meeting Saturday inside the Élysée Palace. Speaking to reporters before going into the meeting, Mr. Macron sought to thaw tensions over trans-Atlantic security ties, agreeing with Mr. Trump that Europe needed to share more of the burden for defending the continent.
“When President Trump has to protect or to defend one of the states of the United States, he doesn’t ask France or Germany, or another government of Europe to finance it,” Mr. Macron said before heading into the closed door meeting with Mr. Trump. “That’s why I do believe that we need more investment.”
Write to Rebecca Ballhaus at Rebecca.Ballhaus@wsj.com and Stacy Meichtry at stacy.meichtry@wsj.com
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