Trump slams France's 'brain dead' comment on NATO

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron's "brain dead" comment on NATO was "insulting" and "very disrespectful". 

"Nobody needs NATO more than France," Trump said in a joint presser with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the alliance's summit in London.

He added it's "very dangerous" for France to make such comments.

Earlier November, Macron called NATO "brain dead" in an interview with The Economist. He also expressed doubts on the applicability of the principle of collective defense, explaining that the U.S. showed signs of "turning its back" on its military allies as it had "demonstrated starkly with its unexpected troop withdrawal from northeastern Syria last month." 

Talking on the tariff crisis between the U.S. and France, Trump said: "I don't want France taxing the American companies, if anyone taxes the American companies it's the U.S., not France."

The Trump administration on Monday proposed tariffs on up to $2.4 billion worth of French imports, including cheese, lipstick, handbags and sparkling wine, in a tit-for-tat response to France's tax on American tech giants including Google, Amazon and Facebook.