POLITICO
Germany’s Merz loses hard-won favor with Trump
The American president seems to be seething over criticism that the U.S. has been “humiliated” in Iran, and is threatening to pull Washington’s forces out of Germany.
“The Chancellor of Germany should spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (Where he has been totally ineffective!), and fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy, and less time on interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat, thereby making the World, including Germany, a safer place!” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after Merz’s comments on the transatlantic bond.
That’s quite a turnaround from the bonhomie the pair had enjoyed.
Trump has previously praised Merz’s government for its immigration and energy policies, while during an Oval Office meeting between Merz and Trump in March the president called the chancellor a “friend” who is doing “really a great job.”
Merz’s strategy has been to avoid publicly confronting Trump — despite deep disagreements on issues from Ukraine to trade — in order to preserve friendly ties and maintain enough leverage to privately nudge the president toward Germany’s positions.
That approach is emblematic of a larger German strategy for dealing with the Trump administration and fraying transatlantic ties. Even as German leaders seek to rapidly reduce their country’s military and economic reliance on the U.S., they believe they will continue to depend on American power — including U.S. nuclear deterrence and intelligence sharing — for years to come. So despite the fundamental rifts, Merz has tried to maintain relations to the greatest extent possible.
Every so often, however, due either to his frustration at the fallout from Trump’s actions — such as the serious economic repercussions of the Iran war for Germany — or to the domestic political cost of playing nice with a deeply unpopular president, Merz lashes out.
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