Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has said she felt “sorrow” at Donald Trump’s return to power, and recalled that every meeting with him was “a competition: you or me”.
In an interview with German weekly Der Spiegel, Ms Merkel said that Mr Trump “is a challenge for the world, particularly 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.
Ms Merkel worked with four American presidents while she was German chancellor. She was in power throughout Mr Trump’s first term – easily the most tense period for German-US relations of her 16 years in office, which ended in late 2021.
She recalled as “a typical scene” a famously awkward moment in the Oval Office when she first visited Mr Trump at the White House in March 2017.
Photographers shouted: “Handshake!” and Ms Merkel quietly asked Mr Trump: “Do you want to have a handshake?” There was no response from the US leader, who looked ahead with his hands clasped.
“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,” Ms Merkel was quoted as saying. “But of course his refusal was calculation.”
The pair did shake hands at other points during the visit.
Asked what a German chancellor should know about dealing with Mr Trump, Ms Merkel said he was very curious and wanted details – “but only to read them for his own advantage, to find arguments that strengthen him and weaken 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.”
Ms Merkel said she felt “sorrow” at Mr Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in the November 5 US presidential election. “It was already a disappointment for me that Hillary Clinton didn’t win in 2016,” she said.
“I would have liked a different outcome.”
The 70-year-old Ms Merkel, a centre-right Christian Democrat who has generally kept a low profile since leaving office, is due to release her memoirs next week.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel