Macron used his extensive repertoire of compliments, tactile body language and handshakes that never seemed to end on “Dear Donald.” And he even got away with correcting him in the Oval Office over his false claims that Washington had almost doubled Europe’s support for Ukraine.

Sitting beside the French president, Mr Trump pointedly declined to call Vladimir Putin a dictator, saying “I don’t use those words lightly.” Mr Macron seemed cautiously upbeat about his visit to the White House.