US president Donald Trump and German chancellor Friedrich Merz kicked off a White House meeting on Thursday with talks on Ukraine and trade but none of the fireworks that have characterised other Oval Office meetings with foreign leaders.
Mr Trump described Mr Merz as a good representative of Germany and also “difficult,” which he suggested was a compliment. He said US troops would remain in Germany and said it was positive that Berlin was spending more money on defence.
Mr Merz said he was pleased to be there and preparing for a deeper relationship with the United States.
The two leaders met in the Oval Office, which has been the site of showdowns between Mr Trump and visiting dignitaries including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa.
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Mr Trump and Mr Merz, both conservatives, appeared to have a warm rapport from the start. Mr Merz started with praise, thanking Mr Trump for putting him up in the Blair House, a presidential guest dwelling across from the White House, and Mr Trump thanked him for doing so.
But tensions over trade simmered under the surface of their encounter. The United States and the European Union are in talks to reach a trade deal, which would be critical for Germany’s export-heavy economy, but Mr Trump said he would be fine with an agreement or with tariffs.
“We’ll end up hopefully with a trade deal,” Mr Trump said. “I’m okay with the tariffs or we make a deal with the trade.”
Mr Merz, who took office last month, told reporters ahead of the meeting that they would discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine, US tariffs and Nato in the meeting, but said he was not expecting major breakthroughs.
Germany is the second largest military and financial backer of Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s invasion, after the United States.
Mr Trump has urged Nato countries to spend more on defence, though he suggested there might be some limits on how far Berlin should go given its second World War past.
The meeting came amid a broader fraying of ties between the US and many European countries.
Mr Trump’s administration has intervened in domestic European politics in a break with past practice, aligning with right-wing political movements and challenging European policies on immigration and free speech.
Mr Merz (69) and his entourage have sought coaching from other leaders on how to deal with Mr Trump to avoid conflict, according to a source briefed on the matter.
The meeting took place just weeks before a critical summit of the Nato western military alliance, which has been strained by Mr Trump’s threats that the US will not come to the aid of allies that do not increase their defence spending.
Such threats are of particular concern to Germany, which has relied on US nuclear deterrence for its security since the end of the second World War.
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Mr Merz has already made some bold policy moves that he can highlight to appease Mr Trump, analysts said. He has backed Mr Trump’s demand for Nato members to commit to a target of more than doubling defence spending to 5 per cent of economic output in the future, earning praise last weekend from US defence secretary Pete Hegseth.
Mr Merz, who has promised a more assertive foreign policy, also co-ordinated a visit by European leaders to Kyiv just days after taking office, two European diplomat sources said.
“This shows that Germany is willing to accept a greater responsibility for Ukraine and the European security order – these are all things that have been wished for in the United States over years and will be welcomed,” said Sudha David-Wilp of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. – Reuters
