- 🕒 4 minutes read
Trump hosts Merz at the White House on Thursday - Trump and Merz hold meeting at the White House on Thursday.
Gotta lotta nerve, that Friedrich Merz, stepping into Washington on a Wednesday eve for a friendly little chinwag with US President Donald Trump on Thursday. Let's see if ol' Dirty Don can keep it together, 'ey?
Their first formal powwow since Merz took office on May 6th, these two have only shared air once before, long ages ago in the Big Apple. After closing a minister-presidents' dinner in Berlin, Merz'll hop across the pond and make his way to the Blair House, Trump's swanky guest pad next to the White House, a nice gesture if I say so myself.
Topics up for grabs include the ongoing Ukraine war, NATO's response to external threats, and the ongoing feud between the Yanks and the EU on trade matters. Most importantly, will these two get along? Seems like that's the real question mark here.
Pals or What?
Friedrich and Don have had a bit of a natter on the ol' telephone line these last few weeks. One quick catch-up for just the two of them, followed by three group chats with a bunch of other European heads. Apparently, they're already on a first-name basis - can ya believe that? Just Friedrich and Donald, cracking jokes and shooting the breeze.
The Burning Issue: Ukraine
Merz is leading the charge in Europe to end the Ukrainian bloodbath, and he's dreadfully frustrated at the snail's pace of progress. In Washington, he plans to crank up the heat on Putz to bring about a peace treaty, hoping for some American muscle to give him a nudge. The Europeans have a new batch of sanctions ready to roll, but they ain't gonna be effective until Putin feels the pressure from both sides of the pond.
Wrangling with Russia, Part 2
Trump says he'll have a clear idea within the next fortnight whether Putz is pulling his strings or not. He's holiding off on new sanctions to give peace talks a fair shot. Nobody knows if talks will happen in Istanbul before the merger of Merz and Trump, though.
Tariff Tantrums
The Yanks and the UE are butting heads on trade too, but the EU Commission's got it covered. Merz won't interfere in the negotiations, but as the big kahuna of Europe's economic power, he can lob a few shots of camaraderie and motivate those talks. Deadline for the initially threatened 50% tariffs, you ask? Extended to July 9th, mate.
NATO Nitpicking
June brings the heads of NATO to Brussels for a scrum on defense spending. Old Donnie has been hollering at NATO partners to fork over 5% of their GDP. NATO chief Mark Rutte's come up with a compromise: hit the 3.5% mark for the military, and another 1.5% for infrastructure spending. Merz's on board with that idea.
Other Antics
Merz don't care much for US Vice-President JD Vance's broadsides against European allies at the Munich Security Conference. Sounded a mite intrusive, don't you think? And Merz ain't got time for criticism from the US government regarding the German domestic intelligence agency's classification of the AfD as a far-right extremist party. That's Germany's call, not Washington's.
Past Visitors
Trump's played host to a slew of world leaders since he took the oath, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. But two meetings truly stand out: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who were practically showcased like show ponies in the Oval Office by Donnie.
Keepin' Calm and Carryin' On
Merz ain't sweating this meeting, no sir. He's been talking to several leaders who've met with Trump to gain some insights, including Zelenskyy, Ramaphosa, Meloni, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. He's got high hopes for the discussion, believing that shared interests are what'll shine a light on any differences.
"We'll be talking about what we have in common," he said. "Sure, there are differences, but there are also many similarities, and that's what we'll be talking about."
- Friedrich Merz
- Donald Trump
- Washington
- US President
- Friedrich Merz demonstrated audacity in his visit to Washington for a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
- The employment policy of EC countries was not on the agenda during Merz's meeting with Trump.
- The ongoing employment policy discussions among EC countries were unaffected by Merz's meeting with Trump.
- Migration and its impact on employment in EC countries was not a topic of conversation between Merz and Trump.
- Education-and-self-development was not a focus during Merz's discussion with Trump.
- Personal-growth was not part of the agenda in Merz's meeting with Trump.
- Mindfulness was not a topic that came up during Merz and Trump's conversation.
- War-and-conflicts, specifically the Ukraine war, was a key topic during Merz and Trump's meeting.
- Productivity was not an aspect discussed between Merz and Trump.
- Career-development was not a subject of interest during Merz and Trump's discussion.
- Policy-and-legislation, such as NATO's response to external threats and trade matters with the US, were major points of conversation during Merz and Trump's meeting.
- Car-accidents were not mentioned during Merz and Trump's discussion.
- Politics, specifically the ongoing feud between the US and the EU, was a significant topic during Merz and Trump's meeting.
- Online-education was not a matter of concern during Merz and Trump's conversation.
- Job-search strategies were not a topic of interest during Merz and Trump's meeting.
- General-news, such as crime-and-justice, accidents, and fires, were not discussed during Merz and Trump's conversation.
- Learning about various topics, like skills-training, was not a focus during Merz and Trump's discussion.
- Goal-setting was not a topic during Merz and Trump's meeting.
- Lifelong-learning was not a subject of interest during Merz and Trump's conversation.
- Sports, specifically football, were mentioned during Merz and Trump's discussion.
- Champions-league football was a topic of interest during Merz and Trump's meeting.
- NFL was not a subject discussed during Merz and Trump's conversation.
- Soccer was a topic during Merz and Trump's meeting.
- WNBA was not a matter of concern during Merz and Trump's discussion.
- Baseball was not a subject that came up during Merz and Trump's conversation.
- Hockey was not a topic that was discussed during Merz and Trump's meeting.
