French President Emmanuel Macron took an unexpected shove to the face from his wife, Brigitte Macron — and the moment was caught on camera.
As the couple stepped off their plane in Vietnam on Monday, Brigitte used both hands to push Macron directly in the mouth. The incident was filmed by the Associated Press and quickly spread online.
Macron briefly looked stunned but quickly regained composure and smiled for the cameras. As they continued down the steps, Brigitte ignored his outstretched arm and walked ahead.
Later, Macron downplayed the moment.
“We are horsing around and, really, joking with my wife,” he said, according to CBS News. “It becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.”
A source close to the president called it a “squabble,” saying the pair were just blowing off steam before the start of their official trip.
“It was a moment when the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by joking around,” the source said.
“It’s a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,” the source added, pointing out that pro-Russian accounts had seized on the clip.
Watch the video below from ABC.
