Trump's remarks on Le Pen

On Tuesday, 20 October, US President Donald Trump called Marine Le Pen the 'conservative voice' in France, speaking against the backdrop of riots and looting in the country. He did not openly say that he supports her candidacy in the French presidential election due in 2027. Asked by a reporter from AFP whether he would back her, Trump said he did not know her and had never met her, but that he thought she had been treated badly. He then linked her political standing to the unrest, saying that after everything that had happened, she was clearly the conservative voice in France.

Le Pen's conviction and the 2027 race

In March 2025, Le Pen was sentenced to five years of ineligibility from holding public office for embezzling public funds. On appeal, the sentence was set at 45 months of ineligibility from standing for election, of which 30 months were suspended, which allowed her to run in the 2027 presidential election. According to polls cited in the reports, she is considered the undisputed favourite for that race.

Trump's wider message on Europe

At a campaign rally in Kansas on Monday, 19 October, Trump said France was under attack and being looted and set on fire by migrants, jihadists and communists. Earlier, on his Truth Social platform, he wrote that Europe must close its borders and expel people who hate its countries, and do so quickly, before it is too late. One report places the immigration and security debate across Europe, from France to Italy, at the centre of political argument.

Context in the United States

The reports link Trump's use of the French unrest to his anti-immigration rhetoric ahead of the US midterm elections in November. Republicans there risk losing control of Congress, according to the reports. The articles do not say whether Trump will formally back Le Pen, and they do not record any response from Le Pen herself.