President
Donald Trump greeted Germany’s Angela Merkel with a handshake at the White
House Friday — a cordial start to difficult talks between long-time allies who
now differ on a host of issues from immigration to NATO.
The
veteran chancellor arrived at a snowy White House, hoping to reverse a chill in
relations after Trump’s tough election rhetoric. The two leaders shook hands
and smiled for the cameras before entering the West Wing, for a meeting that
had been delayed three days because of bad weather.
The
unlikely pair — a cautious German chancellor and impulsive US president — moved
to the Oval Office, hoping to narrow differences on immigration and NATO but
also Russia and global trade.
For
years, Merkel — a trained physicist — had been president Barack Obama’s closest
international partner, with the two sharing a strong rapport and a similar
deliberative approach.
With
Trump, Merkel may settle for avoiding an open argument or a unkind 140-character
Twitter missive from the US leader. Before coming to office in January, the US
president called Merkel’s acceptance of refugees a “catastrophic mistake” and
said she was “ruining Germany.”
He
also demanded that countries like Germany step up defense spending, a sensitive
issue for a nation that has had a strong pacifist tradition since World War II
and proselytizes fiscal prudence.
In
a similar vein, Merkel has sought to remind — some in the White House would say
lecture — the real estate mogul about democratic values.
Any
“close cooperation,” she said, must be on the basis of the “values of
democracy, freedom, respect for the rule of law and human dignity, regardless
of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political belief.”
Comments
like that have prompted some of Trump’s fiercest critics to declare Merkel the
new “leader of the free world” — a moniker normally taken up by the occupant of
the White House.
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Voice of Europe –
Between
meetings, the pair will hold a joint press conference at 1:20 pm (1720 GMT)
that is sure to dredge up past barbed disagreements.
“Germany
looks toward Washington with a mixture of vulnerability and confidence,” said
Jeffrey Rathke of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Germany
is the de facto leader of the European Union, but the Union is undergoing
internal and external trials that make its future uncertain,” he added.
“And
Germany has placed all of its security eggs in multilateral baskets.” Since
coming to office, Trump has tempered his comments slightly, but is still likely
to press for higher defense spending.
And
European officials still fret that Trump has too closely embraced the
nationalist ideology of key advisor Steve Bannon. Bannon has championed trade
protectionism and opposed the European Union and other multilateral
institutions that underpin the world order.
Merkel
is sure to raise the issue of a proposed US border tariff that would hit German
manufacturers hard. To underscore the point, she has brought a host of German
business leaders along for the trip.
Before
departing for the United States, Merkel also noted she was going to Washington
as an envoy not just of Germany, but of Europe too. “I will of course point out
that for us, our country and our membership in the European Union are two sides
of the same coin,” Merkel said.
Hours
before the pair met, Germany’s Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries warned that
Berlin could take Washington to an international trade court if it insists on
imposing punitive tariffs on German goods.
Amid
the heightened rhetoric, she acknowledged that “a lot is at stake” for the
White House talks, calling for clarity and “creating a reliable base” for
relations to reduce the “poisonous” uncertainty clouding the economic outlook.
In
a conciliatory tone, a White House official said that Trump will seek out
Merkel’s views on Russia.
That
is a nod to her years on the international stage and experience growing up in
communist East Germany, where she learned Russian. “The president will be very
interested in hearing the chancellor’s views on her experience in interacting
with Putin,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Of
course she has been doing this for more than a decade,” the official said.
“He’s going to be very interested in hearing her insights on what it’s like to
deal with the Russians.” Trump’s own background may also help break the ice.
His
family hails from Kallstadt, a tidy village nestled in southwest Germany’s lush
wine country. His grandparents left for America more than a century ago fleeing
poverty and later, after a brief return, trouble with the law.
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