25 April 2018•Update: 26 April 2018
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
French President Emmanuel Macron set out Wednesday a vision of world politics hinged on multilateralism one day after a buddy-buddy visit with President Donald Trump.
Macron urged the U.S. to avoid "closing the door" on the international community, warning doing so will not "stop the evolution of the world."
"It will not douse, but enflame the fears of our citizens. We have to keep our eyes wide open to the new risks right in front of us," he said during a joint address to both chambers of Congress. "If we decide to open our eyes wider we will be stronger. We will overcome the dangers. We will not let the rampaging work of extreme nationalism shake a world full of hopes for greater prosperity."
Despite the public displays of camaraderie on Tuesday, Macron and Trump offer diametrically opposed views of international politics.
Throughout his time in office, Trump has displayed a strong isolationist steak. He has opted more often than not to remove the U.S. from its international obligations with other nations, including his decision to pull the U.S. out of the historic Paris Climate Agreement and looming threat to end U.S. participation in the international agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program.
Much of Tuesday's meetings was focused on getting Trump to change course on the Iran deal, but the American president appeared undeterred when he called it "insane" and "ridiculous".
Macron said whatever Trump ultimately decides, France will remain a participant in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, noting that Paris signed on "at the initiative of the United States".
“We should not abandon it without having something substantial, and more substantial instead,” Macron said. "This agreement may not address all concerns, and very important concerns. This is true. But we should not abandon it without having something substantial, and more substantial instead."
He further urged the U.S. to return to the Paris Climate Agreement, playing on Trump's campaign slogan by urging the U.S. and France "to make our planet great again" while forecasting that the U.S. will return to the climate pact "one day".
In addition to removing the U.S. from the agreement, Trump has appointed a number of climate change skeptics to helm vital U.S. agencies, including Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
Undeterred, Macron said he believes "in building a better future for our children, which requires offering them a planet that is still habitable in 25 years".
"What is the meaning of our life, really, if we work and live destroying the planet while sacrificing the future of our children?" he asked rhetorically. "We are killing our planet. Let us face it: There is no Planet B.”
