But while Macron frets about the myopia of the populists, he does not fully reject their agenda. Under his watch, authorities have embarked on a harsh crackdown on asylum seekers, and Macron himself has expressed sympathy for public anxieties over migration. Macron’s supporters see his “radical centrism” as a more effective platform to address some of the same concerns that animate Trump and his voters.

“When they meet at the White House, Macron and Trump will be looking at the same issues from different, but not opposite, perspectives. As much as his American counterpart, the French president understands the populist mood sweeping both countries,” wrote Paul Zajac and Benjamin Haddad, two French think-tankers based in Washington. “But Macron believes he should approach it with a different set of answers, while retaining an open and cooperative world order.”

Meanwhile, Macron’s critics — especially on the left — see him not as populist in establishment clothing but as a leader for the rich, bent on tightening his stranglehold on the French political scene. “Abroad, Macron is often viewed as a French Obama, a fresh face who uses his youthful energy to captivate audiences and urge action on climate change and other progressive policies,” wrote my colleague James McAuley. “At home, he is widely seen as a sort of liberal strongman who has sought to curtail checks on his power — and may have some of the same governing tendencies as President Trump.”