Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed “sorrow” over Donald Trump’s return to power, describing her interactions with him as consistently feeling like “a competition: you or me.”
In an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel, published on Friday, Merkel remarked that Trump poses “a challenge for the world, especially for multilateralism.”
“What awaits us now is really not easy,” she said, because “the strongest economy in the world stands behind this president” with the dollar as a dominant currency.
During her tenure as German chancellor, Angela Merkel worked alongside four American presidents. Her time in office coincided with Donald Trump’s first term, a period widely regarded as the most strained phase of German-U.S. relations during her 16 years in power, which concluded in late 2021.
Merkel recounted a “typical scene” from her initial visit to Trump’s White House in March 2017. During an infamously awkward moment in the Oval Office, photographers called out for a handshake.
Merkel softly asked Trump, “Do you want to have a handshake?” But Trump remained silent, staring ahead with his hands clasped.
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“I tried to coax him into a handshake for the photographers because I thought in my constructive way that maybe he hadn’t noticed they wanted such a picture,” Merkel was quoted as saying. “But of course his refusal was calculation.”
The two did exchange handshakes at various moments during the visit.
When asked what a German chancellor should understand about interacting with Trump, Merkel described him as highly curious and eager for details — “but only to use them for his own benefit, seeking arguments that bolster his position while undermining others.”
“The more people there were in the room, the greater was his urge to be the winner,” she added. “You can’t chat with him. Every meeting is a competition: you or me.”
Merkel expressed “sorrow” over Trump’s victory against Kamala Harris in the November 5 presidential election, saying, “It was already disappointing for me when Hillary Clinton didn’t win in 2016. I had hoped for a different outcome this time as well.”
The 70-year-old former German chancellor, a center-right Christian Democrat known for maintaining a low profile since stepping down from office, is set to release her memoirs next week.
(AP)
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