President Donald J. Trump and President Emmanuel Macron at the arrival ceremony at Les Invalides in Paris, July 13, 2017. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
In a powerful essay at The American Conservative, Pat Buchanan rips into French President Emmanuel Macron for his insulting speech at the recent Armistice Day ceremonies in Paris. Pat asks “What country does Emmanuel Macron put first?” Pat considers that Macron’s comments could be a result of his ignorance of American history. He writes (abridged):
In a rebuke bordering on national insult Sunday, Emmanuel Macron retorted to Donald Trump’s calling himself a nationalist.
“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism; nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism.”
As for Trump’s policy of “America first,” Macron trashed such atavistic thinking in this new age: “By saying we put ourselves first and the others don’t matter, we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great and what is essential: its moral values.”
Though he is being hailed as Europe’s new anti-Trump leader who will stand up for transnationalism and globalism, Macron reveals his ignorance of America.
Trump’s ideas are not ideological but rooted in our country’s history.
America was born between the end of the French and Indian War, the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the ratification of the Constitution in 1788. Both the general who led us in the Revolution and the author of that declaration became president. Both put America first. And both counseled their countrymen to avoid “entangling” or “permanent” alliances with any other nation, as we did for 160 years.
Were George Washington and Thomas Jefferson lacking in patriotism?
What country does Emmanuel Macron put first?
Or does the president of France see himself as a citizen of the world with responsibility for all of Europe and all of mankind?
Charles de Gaulle was perhaps the greatest French patriot in the 20th century. Yet he spoke of a Europe of nation-states, built a national nuclear arsenal, ordered NATO out of France in 1966, and, in Montreal in 1967, declared, “Long live a free Quebec” — inciting French Canadians to rise up against “les Anglo-Saxons” and create their own nation.
Was de Gaulle lacking in patriotism?
By declaring American nationalists anti-patriotic, Macron has asserted a claim to the soon-to-be-vacant chair of Angela Merkel.
Read more here.
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