President Donald Trump showed his friendship and respect for his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday by publicly clearing some dandruff off of his shirt collar.
“We do have a very special relationship. In fact, I’ll get that little piece of dandruff off,” said Trump swiping at Macron’s collar. “We have to make him perfect. He is perfect.”
Macron then thanked Trump for the cleaning.
The president preceded the moment by lauding his relationship with Macron, saying that media reports about their friendship were not fake news — but in fact real news.
“They’re all saying what a great relationship we have and they’re actually correct. It’s not fake news,” said Trump. “Finally it’s not fake news.”
Macron is on his first state visit to the United States since Trump’s election and has gone out of his way to finesse his relationship with the mercurial president. The two men and their wives shared a private dinner in Mount Vernon Monday evening and will enjoy a state dinner at the White House this evening.
The relationship has improved significantly since the two men first met in Paris last year and exchanged a white-knuckle handshake that lasted nearly 30 seconds.
Macron’s visit comes as President Trump looks to withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama, escalating trade tensions. Macron’s charm offensive — which even included a Fox News interview with Chris Wallace — is widely seen as an effort to temper Trump from these positions.