It’s hard to recall an American president dressing down a foreign leader to his face with such an emphatic defense of Israel.

In a welcome display of moral clarity, President Trump chastised French President Emmanuel Macron over France’s recognition of a Palestinian state.

In a joint press conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Macron was discussing his decision to recognize a state of Palestine.

Trump then responded, correctly, that the decision rewarded Hamas.

“It honors Hamas, and you just can’t do that,” Trump stated emphatically, with Macron sitting right next to him. “But we want our hostages back, and we don’t want them back in ones and twos and take the next two years to do it.”

He went on to say, “You can’t honor [Hamas] doing anything like you suggest. All you can do is say, we want our hostages back and we want the war to end. . . . But people forget October 7 was one of the most savage days in the history of the world. There’s never been anything like that. We’re talking about babies being sliced in half. You’re talking about young children having their heads chopped off. You can’t forget that.”

At another point, he interjected to emphasize, “I’m on the side of Israel, I’ve been on the side of Israel really my whole life.”

It’s hard to recall an American president dressing down a foreign leader to his face with such an emphatic defense of Israel.