Election of an American pope a 'shock to many'
Cesar Baldelomar, from St Mary's College of California, discusses the shock election of Pope Leo XIV, an American from Chicago, and what it means for the Catholic Church.
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Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump, Merz discuss trade, NATO spending and Russia's war on Ukraine
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on the US to apply more pressure on Russia to end its three-year-old war on Ukraine. 'You know that we gave support to Ukraine and that we are looking for more pressure on Russia,' Merz told US President Donald Trump at the start of their meeting on Thursday at the Oval Office. Merz emphasised that Germany 'was on the side of Ukraine', while Trump likened the war to a fight between two young children who hated each other. 'Sometimes, you're better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart,' Trump said. He added that he had relayed that analogy to Russian President Vladimir Putin in their phone conversation on Wednesday. Asked about Trump's comments as the two leaders sat next to each other, Merz stressed that both he and Trump agreed 'on this war and how terrible this war is going on,' pointing to the US president as the 'key person in the world' who would be able to stop the bloodshed. Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett said that, while the two men agreed that the war needed to end, how that happens 'seems to be a point of contention'. 'What we saw there was the German chancellor suggesting and pointing out that … Russia continues to hit back at civilian targets, whereas, when it comes to Ukraine, the focus in the eyes of Germany has been strictly on military targets inside Russia,' she said from Washington, DC. Halkett added that Trump revealed during the meeting that he 'implored the Russian president not to retaliate for that attack that took place over the weekend … and Vladimir Putin said he was going to attack regardless.' Thursday's meeting marked the first time that the two leaders sat down in person. After exchanging pleasantries – Merz gave Trump a gold-framed birth certificate of the US president's grandfather, Friedrich Trump, who immigrated from Germany – the two leaders were to discuss issues such as Ukraine, trade and NATO spending. Trump and Merz have spoken several times by phone, either bilaterally or with other European leaders, since Merz took office on May 6. German officials say the two leaders have started to build a 'decent' relationship, with Merz wanting to avoid the antagonism that defined Trump's relationship with one of his predecessors, Angela Merkel, in the Republican president's first term. The 69-year-old Merz, who came to office with an extensive business background, is a conservative former rival of Merkel's who took over her party after she retired from politics. Merz has thrown himself into diplomacy on Ukraine, travelling to Kyiv with fellow European leaders days after taking office and receiving Zelenskyy in Berlin last week. He has thanked Trump for his support for an unconditional ceasefire while rejecting the idea of 'dictated peace' or the 'subjugation' of Ukraine and advocating for more sanctions against Russia. In their first phone call since Merz became chancellor, Trump said he would support the efforts of Germany and other European countries to achieve peace, according to a readout from the German government. Merz also said last month that 'it is of paramount importance that the political West not let itself be divided, so I will continue to make every effort to produce the greatest possible unity between the European and American partners.' Under Merz's immediate predecessor, Olaf Scholz, Germany became the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States. Merz has promised to keep up the support and last week, pledged to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any imposed range limits. At home, Merz's government is intensifying a drive that Scholz started to bolster the German military after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In Trump's first term, Berlin was a target of his ire for failing to meet the current NATO target of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defence, and Trump is now demanding at least 5 percent from allies. The White House official said the upcoming NATO summit in the Netherlands later this month is a 'good opportunity' for Germany to commit to meeting that 5 percent mark. During their meeting on Thursday, Trump described 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. Another top priority for Merz is to get Germany's economy, Europe's biggest, moving again after it shrank the past two years. He wants to make it a 'locomotive of growth,' but Trump's tariff threats are a potential obstacle for a country whose exports have been a key strength. At present, the economy is forecast to stagnate in 2025. Germany exported $160bn worth of goods to the US last year, according to the Census Bureau. That was about $85bn more than what the US sent to Germany, a trade deficit that Trump wants to erase. 'Germany is one of the very big investors in America,' Merz told reporters Thursday morning. 'Only a few countries invest more than Germany in the USA. We are in third place in terms of foreign direct investment.' 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 Trump said he would be fine with an agreement or with tariffs. 'We'll end up hopefully with a trade deal,' Trump said. 'I'm OK with the tariffs, or we make a deal with the trade.'
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump: Russia, Ukraine like ‘two children fighting in a park'
NewsFeed Trump: Russia, Ukraine like 'two children fighting in a park' 'Sometimes you let them fight for a little while.' Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine are like two children fighting in a park and sometimes it's better to wait before breaking them up. He was speaking in an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who said America is in a strong position to end the war.
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Tesla shares slide as CEO Musk and President Trump have a public face-off
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and self-proclaimed 'first buddy' of President Donald Trump, has stepped up criticism of the president's massive tax legislation in recent days. Investors are starting to notice. Tesla shares dropped more than 5 percent on Thursday on a day otherwise devoid of news for the electric vehicle maker, leading traders to speculate that Musk's increasingly pointed rhetoric suggests strain in the relationship that has benefitted his sprawling empire of businesses. Trump said on Thursday that Musk was upset because the bill took the EV mandate away. 'Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more,' the president said. 'He said the most beautiful things about me. And he hasn't said bad about me personally. That'll be next. But I'm very disappointed.' Trump's comments extended a decline in Tesla shares. The world's richest man, a key figure in the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) cost-cutting initiative for several months, has blasted the bill, not long after he said he would spend less time in the White House and more time with his companies. On his social media platform X, Musk has called on Congress members to kill the legislation, calling it a 'disgusting abomination'. 'It more than defeats all the cost savings achieved by the DOGE team at great personal cost and risk,' Musk, the largest Republican donor in the 2024 election cycle, said on X on Tuesday. Musk's leadership of DOGE and his alignment with the Trump administration have put off some Tesla buyers. Sales of his EVs have slumped in Europe, China and key US markets like California, even as overall electric vehicle purchases continue to grow. Musk has slowly started to separate himself from the White House in recent weeks, stung in part by the wave of protests against Tesla. 'Elon's politics continue to harm the stock. First, he aligned himself with Trump, which upset many potential Democratic buyers. Now, he has turned on the Trump administration,' said Tesla shareholder Dennis Dick, chief strategist at Stock Trader Network. Musk's other businesses, SpaceX and Starlink, dominate their respective markets, but have also come under scrutiny due to Musk's relationship with Trump. Those two businesses often serve as the default choice for commercial launches and satellite internet deployment, and foreign governments have also increasingly looked to Starlink, with regulatory approvals smoothed by Musk's ties. Tesla shares are down 12 percent since May 27, roughly coinciding with his decision to pull back from Washington activities. The stock has been on a roller-coaster ever since his endorsement of Trump in mid-July 2024 in his re-election bid, gaining 169 percent from that point through mid-December. That was followed by a 54 percent selloff through early April as a 'Tesla Takedown' protest movement intensified. The House of Representatives version of the budget bill proposes largely ending the popular $7,500 electric vehicle subsidy by the end of 2025. Tesla and other carmakers have relied on incentives for years to drum up demand, but Trump promised during the transition to end the subsidy. Tesla could face a $1.2bn hit to its full-year profit, along with an additional $2bn setback to regulatory credit sales due to separate Senate legislation targeting California's EV sales mandates, according to JP Morgan analysts. 'The budget bill contains bad stuff for Tesla with the end of the EV credits, and just generally his falling out with Trump has risks for Tesla and Elon's other companies,' said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. Musk's public attacks have upset potential Republican Tesla buyers as well, Dennis Dick added. One White House official on Wednesday called the Tesla CEO's moves 'infuriating'. The billionaire joined Senate Republican deficit hawks this week in arguing that the House bill does not go far enough in reducing spending. Overall, Tesla shares are down 22 percent this year, including Thursday's losses. But the company is still the most valuable carmaker worldwide by a long shot – carrying a market value of $1 trillion, far surpassing Toyota Motor's market value of about $290bn.
