WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump said Tuesday he promised French President Emmanuel Macron that he would reconsider his pledge to blow up the multinational Iran nuclear deal, but spent much of his time in their joint appearance explaining why he thinks it is "a disaster."
"It's insane. It's ridiculous. It should never have been made. But we will be talking about it," Trump told reporters as the two leaders sat side-by-side in the Oval Office for their first business meeting of Macron's visit.
Soon after, at a meeting attended by officials from both countries, Trump expressed optimism about a still-unscheduled meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, calling him "very honorable."
Macron is in Washington for a three-day official state visit, the first during the Trump presidency. His main mission is preserving the Iran nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration in 2015. Trump has vowed he will not sign a document waiving U.S. sanctions against Iran, as he has done before reluctantly, at the next deadline, May 12. That could wreck the deal.
Trump has formed a close bond with Macron but sounded like a man ready to disappoint his friend, complaining that the deal to freeze Iran's nuclear program gave the country too much money and no restrictions on its separate activities to develop missiles and make trouble internationally.
"It just seems that no matter where you go, especially in the Middle East, Iran is behind it. Wherever there's trouble _ Yemen, Syria _ no matter where you have it, Iran is behind it," Trump said. "And now, unfortunately, Russia is getting more and more involved. But Iran seems behind everything where there's a problem. And we just have to take a look."
Trump also spoke vaguely but ominously about how the United States would contain Iran if it resumes its nuclear weapons development.
"It won't be so easy for them to restart," he said. "If they restart their nuclear program, then they will have bigger problems than they've ever had before."
Macron tried to put the deal in a regional context, defending it for its geopolitical benefits.
"The Iran deal is an important issue but we have to take a far broader picture, which is security in the overall region," he said.
The policy discussions were sandwiched between festive ceremonies honoring the friendship between the two men and their countries. Macron, 40, and Trump, 71, share a mutual sense that they were elected as outsiders and disrupters. Macron has built the closest relationship with Trump of any leader in Europe _ certainly more than Germany's Angela Merkel, who is scheduled to visit on Friday _ despite the fact that Trump is generally viewed on the continent with skepticism and alarm.
They shared a private dinner with their spouses on Monday at Mount Vernon, the Virginia plantation home of George Washington. Tuesday morning, they participated in an elaborate welcoming ceremony at the White House, which included a military inspection and rousing speeches from both presidents about the friendship cemented through revolutions and two world wars over nearly 250 years.
"Let the United States and France stand forever in solidarity for the noble cause of liberty and peace," Trump declared.
Macron spoke of their "appointment with history," while trying to nudge Trump toward the international consensus on climate change, trade and other issues on which he differs with the U.S. leader. He called on Trump to "resist the rise of aggressive nationalisms that deny our history and divide the world."
"It is together that we will be able to act effectively for our planet," Macron said. "I'm not just referring to climate, but also to the oceans, to biodiversity and to all forms of pollutions."
"On this issue, we do not always agree as to the solutions," he added. "But, in the end, such is the case in any family and in any friendship. And it is also where the fate of our children is at stake."
