Emmanuel Macron was among a host of international leaders queuing up to congratulate Donald Trump on his thumping election victory – but his choice of words prompted ridicule online.
Taking to X to toast the president-elect’s landslide win in the Presidential contest against Democratic opponent Kamala Harris, the French President wrote: “Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump. Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.”
But users on the social platform picked up on the use of the phrase “your convictions”, given that in May a jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election.
Daniels alleges she and Trump had a sexual encounter a decade earlier after they met at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe while he was married to his current wife Melania.
Trump has strenuously denied all the claims and insists he did nothing wrong. He is currently awaiting sentencing but is attempting to have a federal court intervene and potentially overturn his felony conviction.
The phrasing in the tweet put out on Macron’s account therefore raised eyebrows, with one person commenting: “Convictions doesn’t translate well.”
Another wrote: “Trying to work out if Macron has actually achieved Boss Level troll status by mentioning Trump’s ‘convictions'”, while a third said: “Thirty-four, to be exact.”
Speaking to the Huffington Post, a member of Macron’s communications team insisted: “The word ‘convictions’ in the president’s tweet means beliefs and cannot be associated with the meaning of convictions as condemnation/sanctions.”
It comes after Trump, 78, clinched key swing states to claim a landslide victory with 294 electoral college votes to Harris’ 223 with three results to go.
Harris, 60, delivered her concession speech before a crowd of supporters in Washington DC on Wednesday, some 12 hours after the former President’s victory declared.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she said.
“The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people, a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up.”
As her supporters cheered on, the VP thanked those who worked on her campaign over the past months, as well as US President Joe Biden and his wife Dr Jill Biden. She also mentioned her running mate, saying: “To Governor Walz and the Walz family, I know your service to our nation will continue.”
It came after the Vice President called the former star of The Apprentice to congratulate him on his victory, bringing to an end the bitter contest between the politicians.
During the call, Harris discussed the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans, a senior aide to the Vice President told NBC News.
Trump campaign communications director, Steven Cheung said at the time: “President Donald J. Trump and vice-president Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier today where she congratulated him on his historic victory.
“President Trump acknowledged vice-president Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country.”
