Overview

• Chancellor Friedrich Merz gifted a gold-framed replica of Donald Trump’s grandfather Friedrich Trump’s 1869 birth certificate during a June 5 White House meeting.
• The old German-script document traces the president’s lineage to Kallstadt, where his grandfather was born before emigrating to the United States in 1885.
• Trump praised the gift, calling it “beautiful” and promising to display it “in a place of honor” in the Oval Office.
• When Trump described D-Day as “not a pleasant day for you,” Merz interjected to emphasize its role in liberating Germany from Nazi rule.
• The discussions also covered Germany’s rising defense budget and measures for ending the conflict in Ukraine.