PARIS â Breaking with diplomatic protocol, U.S. President Donald Trump exchanged cell phone numbers with French President Emmanuel Macron and asked him to call him directly, a Macron aide told POLITICO.
Trump gave his private number to Macron during their first phone conversation on May 8, after Macron won the French presidential election. According to the Associated Press, Trump also shared his number with the leaders of Mexico and Canada.
A security specialist who advised Macron during his campaign said that leaders exchanging personal mobile numbers was common. Mobile phones are typically secured when a new leader comes into power, with old phones being equipped with new SIM cards.
But others have said the move goes against the standard diplomatic practice.
“If you are speaking on an open line, then it’s an open line, meaning those who have the ability to monitor those conversations are doing so,” Derek Chollet, a former Pentagon adviser and National Security Council official now at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, told AP.
This story has been updated with additional information.