Macron sensed a vacuum. In April 2018 he came to the United States and threw down the gauntlet. Speaking to a joint session of Congress, Macron defended multilateralism and rejected “isolationism, withdrawal, and nationalism.” In other words, Trumpism. He said he understood the urge to retreat, “but closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world. It will not douse but inflame the fears of our citizens.” He reminded his American hosts that the United States “invented” the postwar multilateral system that has kept the peace for decades.
