Trump, Merkel try to get along in first meeting
WASHINGTON • President Donald Trump, the outspoken businessman, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the reserved trained scientist, held a news conference Friday after meeting for the first time at the White House for a summit. Among the items discussed:
TAPPED OUT
Trump repeated his contention that former president Barack Obama may have tapped his phones in Trump Tower. He sought to turn the explosive charge into a light joke when he told Merkel, “At least we have something in common, perhaps,” referring to 2014 reports that the U. S. was monitoring the German Chancellor’s cellphone conversations.
GOING ALONE
Trump pushed back against the notion in Europe that his “America First” agenda meant he was an isolationist, responding firmly, “I don’t believe in an isolationist policy.” The president appeared to bristle at the suggestion from a German reporter, adding, “I don’t know what newspaper you’re reading, but I guess that would be another example of, as you say, fake news.”
LET’S BE FRIENDS
Merkel often attempted to project a more conciliatory approach, saying she and Trump had not yet had much time to discuss economic issues. She said the “success of Germans has always been one where the German success is one side of the coin and the other side of the coin has been European unity and European integration. That’s something of which I’m deeply convinced.” Those comments appeared aimed at making a case to Trump on the benefits of the European Union. Trump backed Britain’s departure from the EU and has expressed skepticism of multilateral trade agreements.
CAN WE TALK
The two leaders tried to express their common bonds but showed minimal rapport in their first encounter, a departure from Merkel’s warm relations with Obama. During a photo op in the Oval Office, the two did not shake hands before reporters. At the start of the news conference, Merkel sought to break the ice, saying it was “much better to talk to one another than about one another.”
THIS COULD BE TRICKY
Trump also addressed immigration in the wake of decisions this week by federal judges to suspend, for a second time, his attempt to temporarily halt the U.S. refugee program and to impose a travel ban on six majority- Muslim nations from the Middle East and Northern Africa. “Immigration is a privilege, not a right,” Trump said, adding “the safety of our citizens must always come first.” As a candidate, Trump frequently accused the chancellor of “ruining” Germany for allowing an influx of refugees and other migrants from Syria and accused his campaign rival, Hillary Clinton, of wanting to be “America’s Angela Merkel.”