Donald Trump has mocked Emmanuel Macron for "kissing Xi Jinping's a**".
Donald Trump has taken aim at Emmanuel Macron for courting China
The former US president took aim at the French leader after he held talks with his Chinese counterpart last week in the hope of using Beijing's alliance with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Asked about Macron's trip by Fox News, Trump said: "You've got this crazy world blowing up and the United States has absolutely no say.
"And Macron, who's a friend of mine, is over with China kissing his (Xi's) a** in China. I said, 'France is now going to China?'"
An Elysee Palace spokesperson has described Trump's comments as "vulgar".
Trump courted Xi during his time in the White House and had high praise for the Chinese president.
The controversial politician said: "President Xi is a brilliant man. If you went all over Hollywood to look for somebody to play the role of President Xi, you couldn't find - there's nobody like that. The look, the brain, the whole thing. We had a great relationship."
Trump also had fond memories of Xi's female interpreter.
He recalled: "He had an incredible - I'm not allowed to say because it's very impolite and very politically incorrect - a beautiful female interpreter.
"If you say it, they'll say, 'This is terrible, you're not allowed to say that.' But she was very professional. She spoke every word for him, very professional."
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