TRUMP: French president Macron 'loves holding my hand'

Thierry Chesnot/Getty ImagesFrench President Emmanuel Macron welcomes US President Donald Trump prior to a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace on July 13, 2017 in Paris, France.President Donald Trump talked to New York Times reporters on Wednesday about his "great relationship" with French President Emmanuel Macron, whom he visited last week in France for Bastille Day.

"He's a great guy," Trump said of Macron. "Smart. Strong. Loves holding my hand."

Times reporter Maggie Haberman responded, "I've noticed."

"People don't realize he loves holding my hand," Trump said. "And that's good, as far as that goes."

Trump talked about the respect he has for Macron and how Macron invited him to celebrate Bastille Day.

"He called me and said, 'I'd love to have you there and honor you in France,' having to do with Bastille Day," Trump said. "Plus, it's the 100th year of the First World War. That's big. And I said yes. I mean, I have a great relationship with him. He's a great guy."

During Trump's trip to France, he and Macron seemed to have an easy rapport. The two embraced in a handshake that seemed to last uncomfortably long.

But Trump's relationship with France wasn't always this easy.

"The Paris Accord - I wasn't going to get along with France for a little while, because people forget, because it is a very unfair agreement to us," Trump said of the climate change agreement from which he withdrew the US.

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