Trump, Macron make a show as best buds, tussle over Iran

WASHINGTON -- With exaggerated handshakes and a pair of kisses, President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron professed a sunny, best-friends relationship Tuesday, even as the two allies strained to bridge differences over the Iran nuclear agreement, Syria and more.

Hosting Macron for the first state visit of his administration, culminating in a lavish dinner Tuesday night, Trump remained firm in his criticism of past and enduring American undertakings in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East. But he appeared open to the French president's pleas to maintain U.S. involvement in Syria -- and expressed openness to negotiating a new agreement with Iran.

As Trump weighs withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear accord, he issued a warning to Iran against restarting its nuclear program, saying "they will have bigger problems than they've ever had before."

At a joint White House news conference, he appeared to be more in line with Macron's push for a longer-term U.S. presence in Syria. Trump, who announced weeks ago he would withdraw American troops, said Macron reinforced the idea of a potential Iranian takeover of territory liberated from the Islamic State group.

"We'll be coming home," Trump said, "but we want to leave a strong and lasting footprint."

Macron told Trump together the U.S. and France would defeat terrorism, curtail weapons of mass destruction in North Korea and Iran and act together on behalf of the planet. That last was a reference to Macron's work to revive a U.S. role in the Paris climate accord to fight global warming, another international agreement Trump has spurned.

Differences aside, Trump and Macron lavished praise, and even a pair of kisses, on each another Tuesday.

"It's an honor to call you my friend," Trump said, after predicting Macron would be a historic leader of France.

In one light moment, Trump sought to demonstrate some of the personal chemistry he claimed. The U.S. president brushed something off Macron's suit jacket, saying, "We have a very special relationship; in fact I'll get that little piece of dandruff off. We have to make him perfect -- he is perfect."

The meetings followed a pomp-filled welcome ceremony on the South Lawn. Highlights included a 21-gun salute and Melania Trump's wide-brim white hat, which drew more comments than all the rest of the pageantry.

Trump said before an audience of U.S. soldiers and members of his Cabinet the relationship he forged with Macron at the start of his presidency was a testament to the "enduring friendship that binds our two nations." He thanked the French leader for his "steadfast partnership" in the recent missile strike in response to the chemical attack in Syria.

Macron said, "History is calling us. It is urging our people to find the fortitude that has guided us in the most difficult of times. France and with it, Europe, and the United States have an appointment with history." Later he placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

The social highlight of Macron's visit was Tuesday night's formal state dinner at the White House. About 150 guests were coming to dine on rack of lamb and nectarine tart and enjoy an after-dinner performance by the Washington National Opera. The previous evening, the leaders and their wives took a helicopter tour of Washington landmarks and had dinner at the Potomac River home of George Washington in Mount Vernon, Virginia.