America First Means No Free Rides: Macron’s Antagonism Raises Questions About $5 Billion U.S. Loan to France’s TotalEnergies
As tensions rise over President Donald J. Trump’s newly implemented reciprocal tariffs on the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron’s retaliatory call for a freeze on European investments in the U.S. has triggered fierce backlash from American energy advocates and foreign policy hawks. At the center of the controversy is a $5 billion U.S. taxpayer-backed loan to French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies—a deal critics now say flies in the face of Trump’s America First doctrine.
The loan, quietly approved by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) in mid-March, is being used to finance a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique. But critics argue that the facility not only benefits a foreign competitor, but directly undermines American energy interests, particularly as President Trump pushes to revive key domestic projects like the long-delayed Alaska LNG pipeline.
“Two Can Play This Game”: Calls to Cancel the Loan
Daniel Turner, founder of the energy policy group Power the Future, took to X (formerly Twitter) to demand a swift response from the Trump administration:
“French President Macron wants European companies to end all American investments. Two can play this game, Emmanuel. President @realDonaldTrump should immediately cancel the $5 billion U.S. loan for France’s TotalEnergies African LNG project.”
That call gained rapid traction after Richard Grenell, former Acting Director of National Intelligence and current Trump administration envoy for special missions, picked it up and sent it directly to President Trump, calling it “a good idea.”
Undercutting U.S. Energy at U.S. Expense
A recent exposé by the Washington Free Beacon revealed how the EXIM loan—approved under Trump but before his appointee could assume control of the agency—has become a political liability and a strategic contradiction for an administration that has vowed to restore American energy dominance.
Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, a key Trump ally, was blunt:
“The TotalEnergies Mozambique project directly competes with the U.S. LNG industry, at a time when the President is looking to expand it… Sending $5 billion in taxpayer dollars to fund a foreign-owned project in Africa contradicts this priority.”
The Mozambique LNG facility, critics argue, undermines American natural gas exports, especially when domestic infrastructure—such as the Alaska LNG pipeline—has faced years of regulatory delays and budget battles.
A History of Questionable Partnerships
TotalEnergies, formerly known as Total SA, has a checkered track record of partnering with foreign adversaries including Russia, China, and Iran. This history raises further alarm about why a U.S. federal agency is underwriting one of its largest overseas ventures—especially while the French government is actively encouraging economic reprisals against America.
The irony is not lost on critics: France’s leading energy company is being funded by U.S. taxpayers while its president takes an antagonistic stance against American policy and markets.
Timing and Accountability
The fact that the loan was approved after Trump took office but before his nominee to lead EXIM was confirmed has drawn scrutiny from watchdogs who argue that interim bureaucrats within the agency approved the deal with little transparency.
“For context, this is one of the biggest loans @EximBankUS has ever done,” Grenell wrote. “And it was quietly approved last month… This must be stopped.”
The Broader Issue: America First or Bureaucracy First?
The TotalEnergies controversy exposes a deeper systemic issue: while the Trump administration continues to deconstruct globalist policy legacies—from cutting off USAID and the Department of Education to slashing billions in DEI grants—some corners of the federal government are still operating on autopilot, pushing through international deals that conflict with the White House’s strategic priorities.
This is where Trump’s America First agenda faces its stiffest challenge—not just from foreign leaders like Macron, but from the federal bureaucracy itself, where holdover personnel and legacy mandates continue to funnel public money into ventures that put foreign interests ahead of American industry.
What Comes Next?
Calls are growing for the Trump White House to:
- Cancel or claw back the $5 billion EXIM loan to TotalEnergies
- Review and audit other international loan commitments made under EXIM and similar agencies
- Prioritize domestic energy infrastructure projects, especially LNG, in line with the administration’s stated goals
- Investigate bureaucratic overreach within EXIM and hold accountable those who approved the deal outside presidential directives
If Macron wants to threaten American investment in Europe, the logical and necessary response is to end taxpayer support for French firms that undermine U.S. energy and economic independence.
Conclusion: Time to Walk the Walk
President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs have reasserted American sovereignty in trade. But economic independence must be matched with fiscal vigilance at home. A $5 billion loan to a foreign energy giant in competition with American companies is not “America First”—it’s bureaucracy first.
Now that the curtain has been pulled back, the administration must act decisively. As Grenell and Turner both make clear: canceling the TotalEnergies loan is not just sound policy—it’s a litmus test for the seriousness of Trump’s second-term agenda.
