President Donald Trump and Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden both face a problem concerning America’s relationship with Germany going forward, Politico Europe reports.
Tensions between the U.S. and Germany already existed before Trump’s election, but his vocal criticism of the country’s low level of defense spending and of the North Atlantic Trade Organization has brought relations to “their lowest ebb since World War II,” according to Politico’s Chief Europe Correspondent Matthew Karnitschnig, who notes that he recently asked the leader of Germany’s “ostensibly pro-American party,” the Free Democrats about the partnership between the two countries only to be asked, “what transatlantic relationship are you referring to still?”
Karnitschnig goes on to note that Germany appears reluctant “to hand Trump the appearance of a win,” noting that the country continued to do business with Russia despite objections from the U.S. and other allies over the recent suspected poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Norbert Röttgen, the chairman of the German parliament’s foreign affairs committee, and a potential conservative replacement for Chancellor Angela Merkel, recently said that Trump’s “approach comes with damaging consequences, more so for the U.S. than for Germany,” after the president reduced U.S. troop presence in the county by about one-third, adding, “It’s difficult to work with that kind of irrationality.”
But Karnitschnig notes that “Even if Biden wins — as most Germans are praying — there is no reason to expect Germany’s position on China will change, given the economic realities at stake,” and Merkel’s support cannot be relied on given the fact that she’s stepping down next year.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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