White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said President Trump’s noticeable interest in Sunday’s presidential election in France shouldn’t be interpreted as him putting his thumb on the scales for one candidate over another.
“He is going to support whoever the winner is,” Mr. Priebus told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Mr. Trump recently posted a series of Twitter messages about the race, which pits four candidates across the political spectrum — from far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon to far-right contender Marine Le Pen, who is nipping at the heels of leading centrist, Emmanuel Macron.
The field is rounded out by François Fillon, a mainstream conservative trying to stiff-arm a nepotism scandal.
The two candidates that secure the most votes will vie in a May 7 runoff.
“Very interesting election currently taking place in France,” Mr. Trump said on Twitter early Sunday.
A few days earlier, Mr. Trump said the terrorism-linked shooting of police officers in Paris would impact the race.
“The people of France will not take much more of this. Will have a big effect on presidential election!” he tweeted.
That led to speculation that Mr. Trump is implicitly backing Ms. Le Pen, whose far-right populist views align with the type of rhetoric Mr. Trump used during last year’s campaign.
Asked by NBC host Chuck Todd if Mr. Trump was backing Ms. Le Pen, Mr. Priebus said: “No. Not at all.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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