US President Donald Trump weighed in on the viral video featuring French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte during a media appearance from the Oval Office on Friday, addressing the lighthearted moment that stirred global social media chatter. The clip, which captured Brigitte playfully pushing Macron in the face as they stepped off a plane in Vietnam, had initially sparked confusion, speculation, and even denial from French officials.
Standing alongside Elon Musk during the press event, Trump confirmed he had spoken to Macron directly and reassured reporters that “they’re fine.” Offering a characteristic mix of diplomacy and humor, he added, “They’re two really good people I know very well, and I don’t know what that was all about.”
When asked whether he had any “world leader to world leader marital advice,” Trump jokingly replied, “Make sure the door remains closed,” drawing laughs from the room and easing the tone around what many had turned into a media frenzy.
The clip's authenticity was initially denied by the Élysée Palace, which suggested the footage was doctored. However, after further examination, the palace acknowledged the video was real but emphasized that the moment had been grossly misinterpreted.
Macron himself addressed the incident, dismissing the controversy with a touch of irony. “We are horsing around and, really, joking with my wife. It becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe,” he told reporters, highlighting how even a simple moment between spouses can become fodder for overanalysis in the age of viral media.
The couple, whose unique love story began when Macron was a high school student and Brigitte was his teacher, has often drawn public attention. Officials from Macron’s office described the incident as “a moment of complicity” between the President and the First Lady—an informal, affectionate gesture taken out of context by conspiracy theorists and commentators eager to assign it deeper meaning.
“It was all that was needed to give ammunition to the conspiracy theorists,” the statement said, emphasizing that the gesture was a brief instance of personal connection rather than a sign of tension or misconduct.
The incident serves as a reminder of how easily private moments, even among world leaders, can be misunderstood—and how quickly they can become the center of global spectacle.
