These are the most bizarre moments from Donald Trump's New York Times interview

United States President Donald Trump's government is doing pretty poorly.

Despite the bluster, they're not really achieving their aims, and Trump's record low approval rating speaks for itself.

In addition, the investigation into his campaign's alleged collusion with Russia deepened last week, after Donald Trump Jr. tweeted proof on Tuesday that he met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer on the pretext that the meeting would provide damaging information on his father's opponent Hillary Clinton.

He recently took an interview with the New York Times, published Wednesday, that included many curious details that caught the eye.

1. Macron holding hands

Trump referenced the long handshake with Emmanuel Macron during Bastille Day celebrations in his visit to Paris.

He’s a great guy. Smart. Strong. Loves holding my hand.

...

People don’t realize he loves holding my hand. And that’s good, as far as that goes.

...

I mean, really. He’s a very good person. And a tough guy, but look, he has to be. I think he is going to be a terrific president of France. But he does love holding my hand.

2. Napoleon

Trump boasted about dinner at the Eiffel tower and then talked at length about Napoleon.

We had dinner at the Eiffel Tower, and the bottom of the Eiffel Tower looked like they could have never had a bigger celebration ever in the history of the Eiffel Tower. I mean, there were thousands and thousands of people, ’cause they heard we were having dinner.

Trump was then asked:

You must have been so tired at, by that point.

Trump replied

Yeah. It was beautiful. We toured the museum, we went to Napoleon’s tomb …

...

Well, Napoleon finished a little bit bad. But I asked that. So I asked the president, so what about Napoleon? He said: 'No, no, no. What he did was incredible. He designed Paris.' [garbled] The street grid, the way they work, you know, the spokes. He did so many things even beyond. And his one problem is he didn’t go to Russia that night because he had extracurricular activities, and they froze to death. How many times has Russia been saved by the weather?

3. Hitler and Russia

Trump then channelled his innner Ken Livingstone by dropping a Hitler reference.

4. Jeff Sessions

Trump argued he never should have hired his early supporter Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.

Sessions recused himself from the investigation into the Trump administrations possible links with Russia, after widespread criticism over his numerous undisclosed meetings with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, which he failed to mention during his Senate confirmation hearing.

Trump criticised Sessions during the interview:

Jeff Sessions takes the job, gets into the job, recuses himself, which frankly I think is very unfair to the president.

How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, ‘Thanks, Jeff, but I’m not going to take you.’ It’s extremely unfair — and that’s a mild word — to the president.

5. Akie Abe

Trump, when asked about a G20 dinner in Hamburg during which he infamously held a lengthy conversation with Vladimir Putin without American aides, and criticised the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Akie Abe, for not speaking English.

So, I was seated next to the wife of Prime Minister Abe, who I think is a terrific guy, and she’s a terrific woman, but doesn’t speak English.

Maggie Haberman, a political correspondent for the New York Times, asked:

Like, nothing, right? Like zero?

Like, not 'hello.'

That must make for an awkward seating.

Well, it’s hard, because you know, you’re sitting there for——

Hours.

So the dinner was probably an hour and 45 minutes.

Also, Akie Abe speaks English.

6. When asked whether it was a political mistake to fire then-head of the FBI, James Comey

I think I did a great thing for the American people.

Michael S. Schmidt asked:

But look at the headache it’s caused, you know?

Trump replied:

It’s okay. I have headaches, that’s what I have, I have headaches. … But you know what, I think I did a great thing for the American people.

7. Trump wants a military parade

8. This.

For the full transcript, please visit the New York Times.

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