logo
What might Trump hold in store for Merz in the Oval Office? – DW – 06/04/2025

What might Trump hold in store for Merz in the Oval Office? – DW – 06/04/2025

DW2 days ago

06/04/2025
June 4, 2025
The newly elected German Chancellor is preparing for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump. Recent Oval Office meetings even with traditional allies have proven to be unpredictable hair-raising experiences. So what can Friedrich Merz expect?

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Germany's Pride parades exposed to increasing extremist threats
Germany's Pride parades exposed to increasing extremist threats

Local Germany

time20 minutes ago

  • Local Germany

Germany's Pride parades exposed to increasing extremist threats

Ahead of Christopher Street Day (CSD) demonstrations -- also known as LGBTQ Pride parades -- Germany's CSD association has warned about an increase in the number of anti-queer crimes -- including hostility seen at some events. "We have a massive increase in online threats," Kai Bölle, board member of the CSD Germany association, told the DPA. Bölle cited groups of young right-wing extremists that have called for counter-actions, adding that the tone "has taken on a new quality." Threatening emails to CSD organisers are used to try to create a climate of fear, said Bölle. He added that in some places "participants are becoming more cautious, arranging to meet in groups to move from train stations to the demo and back." In 2024, 27 organised counter-actions by right-wing extremist groups were counted at CSD events. READ ALSO: Pride parade runs the gauntlet in German far-right stronghold Calls for nationwide reporting on queerphobia Anti-queer crimes fall within the broader category of politically motivated crime. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, 1,765 cases of politically motivated crimes related to sexual orientation were reported last year (up 18 percent compared to 2023), as well as 1,152 cases directed against trans or non-binary people (up 35 percent). Andre Lehmann, board member of the LSVD⁺ Association for Queer Diversity, said that queer-hostile hate crime had once again reached a "sad peak". But he said that the numbers don't show the full extent of the problem: "About 90 percent of crimes against queer people still remain in the dark." Lehmann sees a lack in uniform reporting standards among the German states, and therefore calls for a nationwide reporting office to help illuminate the number of unreported cases. Advertisement Christopher Street Day events begin in June and continue through July CSD parades are demonstrations for equal rights for LGBTQ+ people often organised by the Pride associations of various German cities. Christopher Street Day takes its name from gay club the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in New York, which was stormed by police in June 1969. The raid sparked the Stonewall Riots, six days of serious clashes between bar patrons, local residents and law enforcement. Some CSD events start from the beginning of June, which is known as Pride month internationally. CSD demonstrations are planned for Saturday in Hanover, Saarbrücken and Schwerin, among other German cities. German Pride Day, however, is celebrated on July 3rd. Berlin's massive CSD parade is typically held on a Saturday toward the end of July -- this year it's set for July 26th. IN PICTURES: Berlin's CSD pride parade brings colour to a rainy day German police will attend CSD demonstrations nationwide with the goal of protecting the demonstrators. With reporting by DPA.

US-German relations – DW – 06/06/2025
US-German relations – DW – 06/06/2025

DW

timean hour ago

  • DW

US-German relations – DW – 06/06/2025

Donald Trump's presidency is testing the bond between Germany and the US, which have been close allies for decades. After the end of World War II, the West German government aligned itself with the United States during the Cold War, joining NATO in 1955. Since then, Germany has been among Washington's closest diplomatic allies. Donald Trump's first term as president led to then-Chancellor Angela Merkel expressing doubts about the future of this transatlantic relationship. Trump's election to a second term has driven even more of a wedge between the two countries, and current Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that he wishes to make Germany 'independent' from the US.

Germany's Merz survives Trump test in the Oval Office
Germany's Merz survives Trump test in the Oval Office

Local Germany

time2 hours ago

  • Local Germany

Germany's Merz survives Trump test in the Oval Office

A month into his job, Merz unleashed a charm offensive on the 78-year-old Trump, presenting him with a framed copy of the birth certificate of his grandfather Frederick, who was born in Germany in 1869. Merz also hailed Trump as being the "key person in the world" when it came to ending the Ukraine war, saying the US leader could "really do that now by putting pressure on Russia." It was a backhanded way of urging Trump to overcome his aversion to putting sanctions on Russia over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as the more than three-year-old war grinds on. The polite meeting showed that the conservative German leader had done his homework as he sought to avoid ambushes like those that Trump unleashed on Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and South Africa's president. But they did not see eye to eye on everything. 'Fighting in a park' Trump -- who spoke to Russian leader Vladimir Putin a day earlier -- said it might be better to let the two sides fight it out, comparing the war that has left thousands dead and swathes of Ukraine in ruins to a children's brawl. "Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy. They hate each other, and they're fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart," Trump told reporters. "Sometimes you're better off letting them fight for a while." Trump said however that he had urged Putin not to retaliate after Ukraine launched daring drone attacks on its airbases, destroying several nuclear capable bombers. "I said 'don't do it,'" Trump told reporters, adding that Putin had told him he had no choice but to respond and it was "not going to be pretty." READ ALSO: Germany's top diplomat seeks common stance with US on Ukraine Trump did make a series of off-color references to the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II -- still a deeply sensitive subject in modern-day Germany. Advertisement Praising Merz for Germany raising its defense spending in line with his demands for NATO members to cough up, Trump said he was not sure World War II US general Douglas MacArthur would have agreed. Then, referring to the upcoming 80th anniversary of the allied D-Day landings that led to the end of the war, Trump said: "That was not a pleasant day for you?" Merz, 69, calmly replied: "This was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship. We know what we owe you." Tariffs deal possible Merz avoided other possible pitfalls as Trump spent much of his time on a lengthy discourse against his billionaire former advisor Elon Musk. Topics like US tariffs on the EU and the prospect of a trade deal barely came up, with Trump saying he believed a deal was possible. Advertisement On Trump's threat to hammer the European Union with sharply higher tariffs, Merz, leader of the bloc's biggest economy, had earlier argued that it must be self-confident in its negotiations with Washington. Nor did Trump confront Merz over free speech issues in Germany as US media had reported he might -- a bugbear the administration has repeatedly brought up with European leaders despite its own record. Merz told reporters in Washington ahead of the meeting that if Trump brought up German domestic politics "I will state my opinion very clearly if necessary." Trump and some in his administration have given vocal support to the far-right and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which came second in February elections. US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Trump adviser Elon Musk have all weighed in in support of the AfD, which in Germany is shunned by all other political parties. FACT CHECK: Is it fair to say that Germany doesn't have a right to free speech? Despite the tensions, Merz had said earlier that he was "looking forward" to his first face-to-face meeting with Trump. The German chancellor is believed to have studied videos of previous Oval Office ambushes and learned how to stay calm and let Trump talk.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store