French President Emmanuel Macron wasn’t available to take Joe Biden’s congratulatory phone call Sunday after he won re-election in France, the New York Post reported. Biden told reporters on Monday that he spoke with Macron’s staff instead, and he would try again later.
“I feel good about the French election,” Biden said as he returned to DC from a weekend trip home to Delaware. “I tried to talk to him last night. I spoke to his staff and he was at the Eiffel Tower having a good time. And I’m going to be talking to him today.”
Presidential calls to foreign leaders typically are arranged by White House staff to avoid unscripted or embarrassing moments for the leader of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful country.
Macron’s victory was touted by White House chief of staff Ron Klain on Twitter as reason for Democrats to feel hopeful ahead of this year’s midterm elections, which Republicans are favored to win.
Klain noted that Macron won despite a 36 percent approval rating — versus Biden’s 40 percent approval. But commentators pointed out that the French generally give their presidents much lower marks in polls than US voters do.
Biden eventually reached Macron later on Monday to congratulate him on his re-election, according to a statement from the White House.
“He underscored the close and enduring relations between the United States and France, our oldest ally, based on shared democratic values, economic ties, and security cooperation. President Biden conveyed his readiness to continue working closely with President Macron on our shared global priorities,” the statement from the White House said.
During the call, Biden and Macron agreed to “rapidly” hold a detailed discussion on Ukraine war, according to Reuters.
As the New York Post noted, Macron’s snub on Sunday was not the first time a world leader has spurned Biden’s outreach.
After reducing oil production in the United States, Joe Biden in March sought oil deals with other nations, including two Middle Eastern countries that gave him the cold shoulder.
The leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates both declined White House requests to arrange phone calls with Biden, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Out of dissatisfaction with the Biden Regime’s policies in the Gulf, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the U.A.E.’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan both declined White House requests to speak to Biden, U.S. and Middle East officials told the WSJ.
“There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn’t happen,” a U.S. official said of the planned phone call between that president and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil].”
Kim Jong Un has reportedly ghosted the Biden regime despite its repeated attempts at contact, after the historic negotiations of the Trump years brought the U.S. and North Korea together for a first-ever summit. Russian military leaders have also refused to answer the regime’s calls in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.