We've just got the strangest insight into the already bizarre relationship between French President Emanuel Mccron and his wife Bridget, 24 years his senior. They just landed in Vietnam Sunday night for a state visit. Crowd was waiting for Macron and his wife to come out when suddenly there was this Bridget apparently hitting her husband in the face.
McCron realizing people must have seen it. Looks a bit shocked. Uh no doubt told her they were out there.
Then they both emerged. She later still refusing to take his arm. And then they didn't look too happy at the bottom of the stairs either.
In fact, Macron had a fist clenched tense. And even weirder was that his office first denied that what you saw was actually real. It claimed, "Oh, this is a artificial intelligence fake made to make Macron look bad.
" And then the staffer said, "Oh, well look, actually they're just fooling around after a long flight. " And then Macron kind of gave it away. We were squabbbling and I was joking with my wife and I'm surprised by it and it becomes some sort of geoplanetary catastrophe.
Everybody needs to calm down and should really focus on actual news. I didn't know that squabbbling was what you called hitting someone in the face. But anyway, attention on his marriage is actually the last thing Mcrom needs because the way this couple met could have had his wife in jail had it happened here.
Macrom was just 15 years old when he appeared in a school play that was directed by Bridget Mcron, who happened to be his drama teacher, 35 years old, married and with three children. They were spotted kissing and Macron was sent away to Paris to another school. But years later, they did marry when he was an adult.
It seems Bridget is still a teacher who believes in corporal punishment. Joining me to discuss foreign affairs is Sean Spicer, the first White House spokesman of President Donald Trump. Sean Spicer, great to see you.
Look, I am going to get on to American politics, of course, but I just can't resist asking you because, uh, you were there at the White House when Macron and his wife paid Trump a visit years ago. Uh, you saw the couple again in a visit to Brussels, I believe about eight years ago. Looking now at Bridget McCron pushing or hitting or punching her husband in the face, what do you make of it?
Well, I'm glad I was nice to her. We laugh, Andrew, and I think that that's kind of been the the general reaction. Um, but but there is a a real seriousness to this for all of the talk that we've had over the past few years about domestic violence.
Um, and it it clearly it goes both ways. And uh I I know that, you know, there's a lot of jokes to be had uh at Mcronone's expense, but there is a serious aspect of this that I don't think should be overlooked. And I know even when their initial response, you know, they tried to initially deny this.
Uh but the the tape was so clear as to what was going on. Um you know, I I so I I I I think we've got to figure out how to balance this. But yeah, eight years ago, almost to the weekend, we were in Brussels for a NATO summit and they they invited President Trump over to uh uh I guess it's their ambassador.
I was looking at the picture the other day. I forgot exactly where, but I think it was the French ambassador's residence there. And and so we went and they were very kind and welcoming.
and he's always had a a very warm relationship with President Trump, but uh he might want to come stay at Blair House here in the United States uh to get out of town if if things continue the way that they might be. Well, I have to say you're right to rebuke us for laughing because I I can't think of any other marriage of PE friends I know that would would endure either side punching the other in the or hitting each other in the face like that. I mean, it's just so extraordinary.
And for this to be the president and his wife, it really makes people look at their uh really quite unique, bizarre, some might call it, relationship from way back when and wonder who's the boss. She was his teacher. Um, this wasn't a tap on the shoulder or or, you know, a a light touch.
Uh, this was truly a smack. And um and I I I will give Mcron credit for how he responded to it because I think the other thing that I thought to myself is that these folks have been in the public eye for quite some time. They're at the the top of that um stair off of the airplane and she has to know that the cameras are on them.
For her to actually know that this moment was going to be on film really kind of concerns me. Well, even if they thought it wasn't going to be on film, that she wasn't standing in the doorway herself, there were people in the plane. And for her to treat him like that in part, it's just I've never seen anything like it.
I think the word you're looking for is emasculating.
