The clash of the titans reached a fever pitch outside the White House on Monday evening. When asked about Macron’s official refusal to join the Board of Peace—a Trump-led international body designed to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza and other global conflicts—Trump didn’t mince words. “Oh, did he say that?” Trump quipped to reporters. “Well, nobody wants him because he’ll be out of office very soon. That’s alright. What I’ll do is… I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes and he’ll join. But he doesn’t have to join.”
The comment cuts deep into French domestic politics, as Macron’s second and final term ends in 2027, making him a “lame duck” in Trump’s eyes. This verbal assault follows Macron’s public warning at the Davos Summit that the Board’s charter “goes beyond Gaza” and threatens the very structure of the United Nations. By threatening a 200% tax on France’s €3.8 billion wine export industry, Trump is using “economic shock and awe” to force European submission to his new world order.
The Elephant in the Room
The real reason for the friction isn’t just a “peace board”—it’s The Price Tag. A leaked draft of the Board of Peace charter reveals that countries are expected to pay a $1 billion “membership fee” for a permanent seat. Macron has reportedly called this a “neocolonial” approach to diplomacy. By rejecting the board, France is attempting to lead a European resistance against what they see as the “privatization of global peace,” but Trump is betting that the survival of the French wine industry is worth more to Macron than the integrity of the UN.
The Narrative They’re Feeding You
Mainstream headlines focus on the “insult,” but the Hidden Agenda is the tactical leak of Macron’s private communications. Just an hour after his “nobody wants him” comment, Trump posted a screenshot to Truth Social of a private message from Macron. In the text, Macron addressed Trump as “my friend” and offered to host a G7 dinner in Paris to discuss Syria and Ukraine. By leaking this, Trump is exposing Macron’s private “fawning” tone, making his public “tough guy” stance at Davos look like a political performance.
The Brutal Reality
The Brutal Reality is that the transatlantic alliance is now a transaction. Trump is signaling that any leader who refuses to join the Board of Peace—and pay the $1 billion “ante”—will face devastating trade penalties. For the French winemakers of Bordeaux and Champagne, their livelihoods are now a bargaining chip in a high-stakes real estate and peace deal. As Macron warns the EU not to “be divided by those with the bigger voice,” Trump is already moving on to the next partner, having already secured the participation of leaders like Viktor Orbán and Giorgia Meloni.
