Merz at Trump: 7 lessons from 17 hours in Washington

Friedrich Merz is satisfied. Quite even satisfied. When the Chancellor gives US President Donald Trump in the White House in front of the colossal Lincoln Memorial in Washington after his two and a half hours after his two and a half hours after his two and a half hours, he takes a consistently positive balance. “Today we laid a foundation for very good personal, but also politically targeted conversations,” says the CDU boss in the ARD.

In the political Washington, his visit has long been forgotten at this time. While Merz is about the trade conflict, the war in Ukraine and NATO, everything revolves around one thing: the feud between Trump and his ex-government advisor Elon Musk. So what did the a little more than 17-hour visit to Merz ultimately bring and what not? Seven findings.

In the middle and only there

All visitors share a fate in the Oval Office of the White House: they remain in a way. The US President’s office that is pimped with a lot of gold is Donald Trump’s stage. There the US President humiliated the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj and had the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Merz is spared that. When pressing the press, the Chancellor of the most economical country in Europe remains a marginal figure, while Trump is largely out of the question about US interior policy.

The chemistry between the two is right

The most important result of the first encounter is: the two have found a wire together. Trump gave himself a friendly, Merz compliments for his good English and avoided any confrontation. He described the CDU politician as “respected” and “good man” and promised: “We will have a great relationship with her country.”

So far, French President Emmanuel Macron or the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have been the main contact in Europe for Trump. Now Merz could slip into a leadership role. His telephone number could be that of Europe.

Germany is no longer the “whipping boy” of Trump

In the first term, Germany was something like Trump’s whipping boy. He particularly criticized the defense spending of the largest European economy, which at the time horn far behind the NATO goals. That sounds different now. “I know that you are now spending more money on defense – and quite a bit more. That is a positive thing,” says Trump. And there is no longer any question of the drastic reduction in US troops in Germany with which he threatened in his first term. If Germany wants to have the American soldiers there, he would be ready. “Yes, we will do that. It’s not a problem.”

The escalation potential remained unused

At the press, Vice President JD Vance and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio were also on the side of the President – those government members who most recently accused Germany and other European allies on circumcision of freedom of expression and the exclusion of parties such as the AfD. Merz had made it clear before his meeting with Trump that he was prepared for repeated accusations. He would “very clearly” say his opinion “if necessary”.

It was not necessary – the topic was not discussed. Neither in the press network nor during lunch together. In an interview with CNN, Merz concluded that in the United States one was now a little clearer about “what kind of party this so -called alternative for Germany is really”.

There is no tangible progress in the customs dispute

However, Trump and Merz did not make significant progress in the conflict issues. Until July 9th there is still time to prevent US tariffs of 50 percent on goods from the EU. The EU Commission has negotiations with the United States. In the United States, Merz saw himself in the role of taking the sharpness out of the dispute. “We want to come to a common solution here,” he said after the meeting.

Ukraine diplomacy stalls

The situation is similar on the subject of Ukraine: the diplomatic efforts of the United States and the Europeans have run into nothing – this was also evident at the meeting in Washington. Trump summarized this in a shocking comparison: “Sometimes you see two little children who argue like crazy,” he said, while Merz was sitting wrongly. “They don’t want to be pulled apart. Sometimes it is better to let them fight for a while and then pull them apart.”

Trump comes to Germany

The first meeting will soon follow. In June, the two see themselves at the G7 summit in Canada and then at the NATO summit in the Hague. But that’s not all. According to Merz, Trump accepted an invitation to visit Germany. “He will come to Germany. We are now looking after an appointment,” he said RTL/NTV. The Chancellor wants to Lilotsen to Kallstadt on the Weinstrasse, the home town of Trump’s ancestors in the Palatinate.