Overview
- Merkel characterized President Trump as an attention seeker whose tariff strategy is aimed at drawing focus and proving his abilities to U.S. voters.
- She recalled Trump’s refusal to shake her hand in the Oval Office in 2017 and criticized his zero-sum worldview shaped by his background as a property entrepreneur.
- The former chancellor cautioned that Vice President J.D. Vance’s demand for alignment with an American concept of freedom poses a risk to European democratic norms.
- Drawing on her memoir, Merkel described bursting into tears during the 2015 Greek debt crisis summit as a sign of her dedication to European solidarity and opposition to a Grexit.
- European leaders are racing to finalize a trade agreement before July 8 to avert the impact of planned reciprocal tariffs.