Donald Trump threatened to hit France with a 200 percent tariff on champagne and wine Monday night before leaking a text message from President Emmanuel Macron that said 'I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland'.
The outburst took place after the college football championship game in Miami when reporters asked the US president about Macron rejecting Trump's invitation to join his so-called Board of Peace.
Macron had said 'at this stage' he was not planning on serving with Trump's group, which is intended to create the second phase of the Gaza peace plan.
'Well, nobody wants him because he's going to be out of office very soon,' Trump responded when asked about Macron's rejection.
Trump then to escalated his threat of a trade war with Europe.
'What I'll do is, if they feel hostile, I'll put a 200 percent tariff on his wines and champagnes and he'll join,' Trump said before boarding a flight to Washington. 'But he doesn't have to join.'
Trump has already suggested imposing France and several other European nations with tariffs for opposing his actions in Greenland.
Macron has pushed for the EU to threaten tariffs on $107.7 billion worth of goods and potentially even block American access to the market.
Later Monday night, Trump revealed a text message he received from Macron where the French leader explained some of his differences and similarities to Trump on policy.
'My friend, we are totally in line on Syria. We can do great things on Iran,' Macron wrote. 'I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland. Let us try to build great things.'
In the text, Macron promised to assemble a G7 following the World Economic Forum in Davos and asked Trump to have dinner with him in Paris on Thursday before he returns to the US.
Trump continued to post on Truth Social, with a photoshopped picture of himself, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio 'claiming' Greenland with the US flag.
He also posted a photo of himself talking to various European leaders, including Macron, last year, as well as a mention that he'd had 'a very good telephone call' with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
It's unclear how many leaders have been asked to join the board, and the large number of invitations being sent out, including to countries that don't get along, has raised questions about the board's mandate and decision-making processes.
Also unknown is Israel's potential role on a board in charge of implementing the ceasefire agreement that directly involves them.
Israel, Russia, Belarus, Slovenia, Thailand and the European Union's executive arm were among the latest to receive invitations.
The White House also sent out invitations to the countries of Egypt, India, Turkey, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that his country will join Trump's peace board but will not pay the $1 billion fee for the permanent seat.
Only three countries have accepted Trump's invitation as of Monday morning: the leaders of Hungary, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam.
Kremlin officials announced that Vladimir Putin had received the offer via US diplomatic channels and is currently 'studying all the details of this proposal' before accepting.
'We hope for a contact with the American side so that we can clarify all the details,' Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
Trump last week formally established the peace committee as part of his peace plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas. The board, of which the US President will be chairman, will oversee the governance of Gaza.
Meanwhile, European leaders are shocked by Trump's brazen efforts to charge countries a $1 billion fee to have a permanent spot on the committee.
European leaders appeared hesitant to make public statements supporting the peace committee as fears grow that it will undermine the United Nations.
It comes as Trump has ramped up his pressure campaign on Denmark and other European allies to hand over control of Greenland to the United States.
The executive committee of the peace board will also include former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and other Trump allies.
A Trump reference in the invitation letters saying that the body would 'embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict' suggested it could act as a rival to the UN Security Council, the most powerful body of the global organization created in the wake of World War II.
The US is expected to announce its official list of members in the coming days, likely during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
