Retired Gen. Jack Keane blasted French President Emmanuel Macron for comments he made over the weekend that were seen as a veiled shot at President Trump's pro-nationalist views.

"Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. [It] is a betrayal of patriotism," Macron said at an international ceremony honoring World War I service members. "[Nationalism is like] saying 'our interests first, who cares about the others'."

In an interview prior to the ceremony, Macron said that "we have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America."

He went on to rip the United States for pulling out of a Reagan-Gorbachev-era disarmament treaty with the Russians.

Keane said Macron is likely venting his frustrations with "internal problems" in his Paris government. The general said Macron's popularity is "in the low 30s" and he is facing a growing populist movement against him.

"It is stunning that he associates the United States as being a security problem," Keane said. "It is the United States that has led the effort to strengthen NATO."

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Trump's own sentiments appeared to echo Keane's, as the president said Macron was "very insulting," adding that France and Europe at-large should "pay its fair share of NATO" before venting about the U.S.

"There's been no voice louder than this president's," Keane said of Trump's support for European security.

"To somehow imply that nationalistic love of country is self-serving to the exclusion of others certainly doesn't apply to the U.S.," he said.

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