Jun 28, 2020, 13:16
(CGTN) During a recent interview with a group of six European newspapers, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Europe needs to reassess its relationship with the United States if the U.S. is not willing to shoulder its responsibilities as a global power.
Analysts see it as a sign of a reversal in the U.S.' relations with its traditional European allies such as Germany. "We grew up in the certain knowledge that the United States wanted to be a world power," the German chancellor said. "Should the U.S. now wish to withdraw from that role of its own free will, we would have to reflect on that very deeply." U.S. President Donald Trump has had testy relations with Merkel in the past. The U.S. president said on June 15 that he will halve the number of U.S. troops in Germany because Berlin is "delinquent" in contributions to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and treats the United States "badly" on trade. In the interview, Merkel said the U.S. military presence in central Europe was in the U.S.' own interest. "American troops in Germany help to protect not only Germany and the European part of NATO but also the interests of the United States of America," the chancellor said. Talking of Germany's military spending, Merkel said: "We in Germany know that we have to spend more on defense; we have achieved considerable increases in recent years, and we will continue on that path to enhance our military capabilities." Merkel has refused Trump's invitation for a proposed G7 summit in Washington, saying that her personal participation cannot be ensured because of the pandemic situation. Meanwhile, Merkel also mentioned relations with the UK, saying that it will have to "live with the consequences" of Boris Johnson ditching Theresa May's plan to maintain close economic ties with the EU after Brexit. "We need to let go of the idea that it is for us to define what Britain should want," Merkel said, adding that it is for Britain to define and the EU27 will respond appropriately. |
Honestly, as a german, it still shocks me to this day how much Trump has ruined the US-german ties. The ties go date back to the end of the Second World War and the Cold War. I still remember how popular Obama was and I grew up with my mother telling me about Kennedy and his famous sentence "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner.") And now this. Trump and by extension the US government has become nothing but a bad joke to us.
Trump talks about germans being sad, that we no longer have any "protection against the russians". Germany hasn't been "afraid" of Russia since the ending of the Cold War. As good as nobody in Germany takes anything he says serious anymore.
Besides, Trump has shown nothing but disrespect to our Chancellor. Even those who are not her biggest fans pity her every time we hear she has to attend a meeting or make a phone call with him.
In my opinion, I see Germany and especially western Europe as whole cutting more and more ties with the US for as long as Donald Trump remains president.
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