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French far-right leader Bardella: ‘My heart leans
toward Trump’ in U.S. presidential race
National Rally’s lead candidate still wants to take
France out of NATO’s integrated command – but only after Ukraine war ends.
MARCH 28,
2024 10:39 PM CET
BY VICTOR
GOURY-LAFFONT
PARIS —
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has at least one loyal supporter across the
pond.
French
far-right leader Jordan Bardella told POLITICO that his “heart leans towards
Trump” ahead of the next U.S. presidential election, lauding the former
president’s economic policies and questioning President Joe Biden’s cognitive
abilities.
“The only
models I follow are French examples,” Bardella said, referring to French
political figures. “Between Biden and Trump, my heart leans toward Trump, but
I’m not American.”
Speaking at
a POLITICO event in Paris, the 28-year-old lead candidate of the National Rally
(RN) in the upcoming European election stated that he didn’t want to meddle in
U.S. politics, but nevertheless criticized the Democratic president’s fitness
for office.
“When
you’re the president of the world’s leading economic power, you need to be
vital, fit and clear-headed enough to make the right decisions,” Bardella said.
“The latest footage we’ve seen circulating on social media is not reassuring.”
In 2016,
the perennial face of RN — former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen —
described Trump’s victory as part of “a great movement across the world.” Four
years later she claimed Trump’s reelection would be “best for France.”
Le Pen
later called the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot a “dangerous act against democracy”
while noting Trump was not “solely responsible” for the polarization in U.S.
politics.
Future of NATO
Bardella’s
comments on Trump and Biden came in response to questions regarding his stance
on France’s role in NATO, as he argued that the future of the alliance hinged
on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
Bardella
told POLITICO that the National Rally was still in favor of leaving NATO’s
integrated command, but only after the war in Ukraine was over.
“The
proposal we’ve always advocated … did not factor in war,” Bardella remarked.
The far-right leader indicated that the National Rally would only maintain its
position on NATO in the next presidential election, slated for 2027, if the
conflict in Ukraine had ended.
“You don’t
change treaties in wartime,” Bardella said.
Le Pen’s
2022 presidential platform included calls for France to exit NATO’s integrated
military command, which Paris rejoined in 2007 under former President Nicolas
Sarkozy’s leadership, and to forge “new strategic agreements with the United
States” and open “dialogue with Russia on major common issues.”
Recent
polling projects that Bardella’s National Rally will receive around 30 percent
of the vote in the June 9 European election — roughly 10 percentage points
ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party list led by
Valérie Hayer.
The
forecasts have rattled the president, who recently cornered his far-left and
far-right opponents with a vote on Ukraine aid, forcing the National Rally to
reveal its doubts about France’s Ukraine strategy.
France’s
main far-right political force has often been criticized for its pro-Kremlin
sympathies — something the party has vigorously resisted.
Bardella
claims that since the start of the war he has “fought to hold a reasonable
position, saying yes to supporting Ukraine but no to a full-on war with
Russia.”
He
reiterated his opposition to French troops being sent to Ukraine, a possibility
Macron has refused to rule out. He also voiced concern about the possibility of
Kyiv’s joining the EU and NATO, arguing it could lead to escalation and
emphasizing the importance of avoiding direct confrontation with Russia.
However,
Bardella acknowledged that Russian President Vladimir Putin was to blame for
NATO’s renewed vigor, saying the Putin had made a “tactical error” in attacking
Ukraine.
“Putin
likely underestimated Western support [for Ukraine] … [and] has driven
countries like Finland and Sweden closer to NATO,” he said.
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