President Donald Trump’s latest clash with a key U.S. ally erupted overnight Tuesday after he threatened punishing tariffs on French wine and champagne, then escalated the dispute by publicly blasting private messages from French President Emmanuel Macron — a move critics described as reckless, humiliating, and damaging to diplomatic trust. The confrontation began after France signaled it would refuse to join Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace,” or back the U.S. president’s push to take possession of Greenland. U.S. President Donald Trump announces changes to the country’s fuel economy standards in the Oval Office at the White House on December 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) The board is a new international governing body, the president says he wants to lead to oversee a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza. View on Threads Asked about France’s refusal, Trump dismissed Macron outright. “Did he say that? Well, nobody wants him because he will be out of office very soon.” He then added, “I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join.” View on Threads Just days earlier, he warned European countries that they could face escalating tariffs unless the United States is allowed to acquire Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. France intends to decline the invitation to join the board, according to a source close to Macron, citing concerns that it would undermine the United Nations. A senior French official said the charter raised serious questions about respecting the U.N.’s role, an institution Trump has repeatedly denounced as biased and wasteful. Trump Promised a Ballroom — But a Scathing Report Just Exposed the Real Work Is Happening Where No One’s Supposed to Look and Where Trump Plans to Hide Another component of the controversial plan is Trump’s proposed $1 billion fee to join the board. Bloomberg reports that the president’s draft plan for his new organization appears to show that he would control the money any countries might contribute. Trump’s threat echoed a familiar pattern. He has increasingly used trade penalties as a blunt tool of diplomacy, pressuring allies to bend to his demands. French Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard described Trump’s tactics bluntly. “It’s shocking because it’s brutal, it’s done to force compliance,” she told TF1, calling it “blackmail” aimed not just at France but at other invited countries. Then came the move that stunned even seasoned observers.  Before dawn Tuesday, Trump posted a screenshot on Truth Social of a private message he received from Macron. The French leader, addressing Trump as his “friend,” offered to organize a Group of 7 meeting after the World Economic Forum in Davos, proposed dinner, expressed alignment on Syria, and questioned the U.S. position on Greenland. Macron’s office confirmed the message was authentic. View on Threads The public airing of private communications set off a firestorm online.  “Why would any leader ever trust someone who leaks their private conversations?” one observer asked on Threads. “If he’s leaking text messages with world leaders to the public, imagine what kind of top secret information he is passing along to Russia,” someone wrote.  Another reaction was more direct: “The man is absolutely crazy.” View on Threads Others focused on AI-generated images Trump posted, showing him planting the American flag in Greenland and holding a cabinet meeting with a map of the western hemisphere draped in red, white and blue.  “Ya’ll the photos are AI yes. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t disrespectful enough to post them to his own Truth Social!”  One user asked, “My god, so f—king unhinged. Where are the adults?!” As Trump’s posts piled up overnight, critics described a chaotic spree that included leaked messages and threats tied to Greenland.  The ridicule extended to Trump’s “Board of Peace” itself. After an invitation circulated on Threads announcing a signing ceremony Thursday in Davos, one response captured the mood: “Please tell me no other country is stupid enough to sign this thing? I pray no one shows up!” Another added, “More like ‘bored of peace’ right.” “What a joke that the guy threatening everyone with military action and kidnapping the head of a country would start a bogus peace organization,” one critic wrote. Trump’s dispute with France is unfolding against a much larger rupture between the U.S. and Europe. Macron has taken a harder line than most European leaders against Trump’s push to seize Greenland, urging the European Union to activate its strongest trade defenses and sending French troops to Greenland in support of Denmark. EU leaders are now preparing an emergency summit in Brussels, while European officials weigh a potential €93 billion tariff response. People close to Macron say Trump is singling him out precisely because he has resisted. “By leading the resistance, France becomes a target,” said Pieyre-Alexandre Langlade, a lawmaker in Macron’s camp. When asked whether he considered Trump’s release of his text messages “impolite,” the French president said he would leave that to other people to decide. However, during a speech in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Macron had a stronger rebuttal for Trump. “We do prefer respect to bullies,” Macron said. “And we do prefer rule of law to brutality.” View on Threads The episode has also revived an old warning from an unlikely source: Sen. Ted Cruz. In 2016, when Cruz and Trump were rivals, the Texas Republican questioned Trump’s temperament with biting sarcasm. “I don’t know anyone who would be comfortable with someone who behaves this way having his finger on the button,” Cruz said at the time. “We’re liable to wake up one morning and Donald, if he were president, would have nuked Denmark.” That remark, once dismissed as hyperbole, has resurfaced amid Trump’s renewed push to take Greenland. “Wow, that’s a coherent assessment of trump,” one critic noted on Threads. “Whatever lie he’s telling, at that minute he believes it … the man is utterly amoral,” Cruz told reporters during the 2016 primary election. “Donald is a bully … bullies don’t come from strength they come from weakness.” Yet Cruz’s tone has changed dramatically. Appearing on Fox News this month, he praised Trump’s fixation on Greenland as “overwhelmingly” in America’s interest. “When it comes to Greenland, I want to commend President Trump, for being single-mindedly focused on America First,” Cruz said. “I believe it is overwhelmingly in America’s national interest to acquire Greenland.” Cruz cited rare-earth minerals, strategic military positioning, and historical land acquisitions, arguing that diplomacy should be used to persuade Denmark to give up the territory. Trump, however, has left the door open to coercion. “If we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” he said Jan. 10. The contrast between Cruz’s past alarm and his present loyalty has not gone unnoticed. “What happened with these pu—ies? Where did their spines go?” one Republican critic asked. ‘Insane’: Trump’s Go-to Intimidation Tactic on Leader Flops, He Pulls Disrespectful Move as Critics Are Shocked By Ally Who Once Called Him a ‘Bully’ ...read more read less