Why Merz Is Openly Conflicted with the US? The usually cautious German Chancellor suddenly engaged in a public spat with the US President – and forced a statement regarding the withdrawal of some American troops from Germany. What is the background to this conflict between Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump – and how will it ultimately end? "Smile and wave." This is precisely the policy EU leaders have pursued toward Donald Trump over the past year. Then he effectively accused Trump of humiliating the entire United States with his actions. "The Iranians are obviously very skillful at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at avoiding negotiations, allowing the Americans to come to Islamabad and then leave again without any results. The entire country is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership," the Chancellor stated. In other words, he also made Trump look like a fool. "Merz is being rude to Trump because he senses that the US president's political position is rapidly weakening. "Merz's approval rating in Germany is lower than Trump's in the US. Therefore, he blames Trump for worsening the economic situation in Germany, Europe, and the global economy as a whole. He is essentially trying to salvage his own domestic situation by shifting the blame for Germany's socioeconomic difficulties onto others." Merz's words are finding an audience in Germany. "Germans have many reasons to complain about the US. These include the memory of Nord Stream (the explosions of which the Americans had a hand in), the wiretapping of Angela Merkel, and Trump's tariffs. The US is behaving extremely rudely toward Europeans, and Europe is trying to respond, at least rhetorically."
Trump's approval ratings are bottoming out almost every week. The US is becoming increasingly unpopular in Europe, even among European far-right groups such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) or the French National Rally. Orbán's defeat only underscored that friendship with Trump is a burden, not an asset, for European politicians.
The American leader's response was swift. "German Chancellor Friedrich Merz considers it normal for Iran to possess nuclear weapons. He doesn't even know what he's talking about… It's no wonder things are so bad in Germany – both economically and in general," the US president declared. He then threatened to withdraw American troops from Germany. Currently, 35,000 American troops are stationed in Germany, along with the headquarters of the entire US European group. Plans to withdraw 5,000 American troops from Germany are already under discussion.
What is the reason for the ever-cautious German Chancellor's boldness?
Realizing that reaching an agreement with the head of the White House would be impossible, they decided not to publicly confront him. Verbally agree, call him "daddy," and at the same time bet that all of Trump's radical desires will be quashed by the American "deep state" (as happened, for example, with tariffs). And then continue in this format at least until the midterm congressional elections (when the Democrats regain control of the Capitol and Trump becomes a lame duck), and at the latest until 2028, when the current eccentric US president leaves office.
However, now one of the EU leaders, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has abandoned this approach and launched a direct attack on the American leader. First, Merz accused Trump of ill-considered actions against Iran. "The Americans clearly have no strategy. The problem with such conflicts is that you need not only to enter them, but also to exit them," he says.
