Trump needs to take a close look in the mirror, but in just one and preferably while at home alone. He doesn’t need to see himself in over 350 of them in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles while accompanied by French President Emmanuel Macron and the media. When Macron regaled Trump with a state visit at the palace after the G7 summit in Evian, he thought he was exercising soft power in regaining Trump’s respect after a tumultuous start to his second term.

But Trump has already thrown more cold water than in Evian on that prospect. It’s unlikely he’ll remove his tariffs on French imports or re-engage the United States with France and the European Union and NATO. Trump is all too willing to drop allies and supporters in a heartbeat when it suits him. That’s because there’s a long line of sycophants ready to take their place. On that note, Versailles is actually a befitting place to take someone who acts like French kings once did.

To Macron’s credit, Versailles was not a bad choice for venue this time since he’s already feted Trump in Paris before. The Arc de Triomphe was so impressive that Trump now wants a similar arch in Washington. The Eiffel Tower might have fared less well, it being a triumph of science, and Trump hasn’t shown much interest in triumphing science lately. However, he was perfectly happy to attend the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral even if his preferred house of worship is the White House where the guests come to worship him.

Macron has also taken Trump to the military parade on Bastille Day. This time around, Macron should have taken Trump instead to eponymous square in Paris, a sure reminder that the people who are unhappy with their leader can rise up at any moment and demand blood. (An even better reminder is at the Place de la Concorde where the most heads fell to the guillotine during the Revolution.) General Lafayette even gave the keys to the Bastille prison to his old protégé and wartime hero, George Washington. As if there could be a better reminder of the 250 years of Franco-American friendship.

Or why not take Trump to the Place de la République as some on the French left called for? At least there, Trump could marvel at the very symbol of the French republic, Marianne, perched high up looking out upon her the citizens. She reminds us that France today is indeed a republic, no longer a kingdom or an empire. By bringing Trump to Versailles, Macron took the opposite track, vainly flattering the president of the United States with forms of grandeur America was never designed to have. In fact, it fought for independence from precisely that old form of government. Not that Trump likely picked up on this lesson. The Hall of Mirrors has a way of not only magnifying the look of things but also distorting them. Macron hosted Trump at Versailles today, not at a chateau, but a funhouse.