There are two key takeaways here.
For one thing, Macron, with his strong language against the U.S. and talk of a European army, is clearly positioning himself to fill German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s shoes in European leadership.
Since Merkel’s announcement that she was stepping down from party leadership of the Christian Democratic Union and that she would not seek reelection, a clear successor in Germany and the E.U. has yet to emerge. Macron, elected as a centrist and a clear rejection of Marie Le Pen’s far-right politics, could be a good fit for the role and solidify a post-Brexit E.U.
Aside from signaling his own ambitions, Macron’s words are also a clear warning to President Trump about his treatment of key U.S. allies in Europe.
A sticking point in his relationship with the U.S. is Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, known as INF, with Russia. That agreement, originally signed by Ronald Reagan and his Soviet counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, paved the way for both countries to cut down their nuclear arms in one of the most successful arms control deals in history.