With the G7 summit underway in France, some social media users are claiming that French leader Emmanuel Macron deliberately "humiliated" US President Donald Trump by not being there to greet him upon his arrival at the airport. Many posts shared a video showing Trump disembarking an aircraft and later appearing unsmiling during a handshake with Macron, suggesting the two events were linked. However, the viral footage omits important context.
Social media users claimed that Macron "sent a protocol official to welcome Trump" and that the US president was "humiliated".
The context missing from these claims is that Donald Trump did not fly directly to France. He first arrived in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was greeted by the president of the Swiss Confederation, Guy Parmelin, in line with standard diplomatic protocol. Macron therefore would not have been expected to meet him at the airport, and the official shown receiving Trump at the tarmac was not "sent" by the French president.
Trump was transported to Évian-les-Bains, the spa resort town hosting the G7, via helicopter and armoured car, where he was met by Macron's head of protocol Frédéric Billet.
According to Politico, Macron had planned to personally welcome Trump on the G7 red carpet, but he was tied up in bilateral talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The Élysée declined to comment.
There is no evidence that this was intended as a snub, nor that Trump's demeanour during his subsequent handshake with Macron was related to his arrival arrangements.
Vedika Bahl goes through the alleged "snub" in Truth or Fake.
