US President Donald Trump has described his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron's criticism of NATO as "insulting and abhorrent."
"NATO is doing a fantastic job," Trump said at a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, ahead of the NATO summit in London.
Referring to Macron's remarks, Trump said: "I think it's very humiliating."
Trump defended Stoltenberg, noting that NATO members had significantly increased their defense spending thanks to his pressure, and warned that France "seems to be cut off from its allies," after Macron criticized NATO's leadership and strategy, describing the alliance as brain-dead.
"Nobody needs NATO more than France," Trump said.
In a meeting with Macron, on the sidelines of a NATO summit, Trump expressed his hope for a solution to the dispute between Washington and Paris over the French digital tax, while the French government confirmed that the European Union pledged to respond uniformly Controversy over the tax, and US threats to impose punitive duties on French products worth up to $ 2.4 billion.