Donald Trump has been accused of sexism after he praised Brigitte Macron, the wife of the French president, for being in "such good shape".
The US president made the comment during his first state visit to France and was posted on the French government’s Facebook page on Thursday.
Mr Trump (71) who has come under fire for his remarks about women’s appearances, met French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife at Hotel des Invalides, where Napoleon Bonaparte and other French heroes are buried.
The comment is like catcalling — never about beauty, it's about power. It's a reminder that #Trump and men have power over our bodies. 3/
— Alex Berg (@AlexfromPhilly) July 13, 2017
After a tour, Mr Trump turned to the French first lady, gestured with his hands toward her and said: “You’re in such good shape.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/WGFUEA44JJEYZXHBE527H2ZTLY.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/7F2ZJPSYWEQZU7LREKBZP7O7EE.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YHNB2XOWKLSR53P5BQHBYCYAYA.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/M47RCJZFMXJKFCGBNLVKCIAULI.jpg)
After repeating the comment to the president, Mr Trump turned back to Brigitte Macron and said: “Beautiful.” Her response was unclear.
Brigitte Macron is 64. Her husband is 39, a similar age gap to Mr Trump and his wife Melania (47).
Social media immediately reacted to the video with many users denouncing Trump’s comments as sexist.
“#Trump telling France’s First Lady ‘you’re in such good shape’ epitomizes men toeing the line between compliment & sexual harassment,” wrote Twitter user Alex Berg, a freelance video producer and writer who works on feminist and gender issues.
“People will shrug and say ‘#Trump was just offering her a compliment!’ It’s creepy and over the line to comment on a person’s body,” she said as part of a 10-tweet thread on the subject.
Jen Siebel Newsom, a documentary maker and actress, (@JenSiebelNewsom) said on Twitter: “Mr. Trump - Women do not want to hear unsolicited remarks on what you think of their bodies. Its gross, and deeply inappropriate.”
The White House declined to comment on the exchange. The couples dined together at a restaurant in the Eiffel Tower on Thursday night.
Macron is the country’s youngest leader since Napoleon two centuries ago.
Mr Trump has been denounced for comments deemed sexist, including criticising the looks of former presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina, comedian Rosie O'Donnell, media figure Ariana Huffington and models Kim Kardashian and Heidi Klum.
His presidential campaign was rocked in October by the release of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape in which he talked about grabbing women by the crotch.
Trump recently attacked MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski on Twitter, calling her “low I.Q. Crazy Mika” and saying she was “bleeding badly from a facelift” at a gathering at his Florida resort around New Year’s Eve.
Guardian service