The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Harsh words are history as Trump welcomes chancellor
Nato, IS and Ukraine on crowded agenda for Merkel visit
It was all smiles as President Donald Trump welcomed German chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House yesterday.
The meeting was their first personal encounter since he frequently criticised her during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Their agenda included discussions on strengthening Nato, fighting the Islamic State group and resolving Ukraine’s conflict, all matters that require close co-operation between the US and Germany.
The meeting was postponed from Tuesday due to a snowstorm that bettered America’s east coast.
Mr Trump and Ms Merkel smiled in front of cameras in the Oval Office at the start of their meeting, with the president urging journalists to “send a good picture back to Germany, please”.
Their sit-down could be a restart of a relationship complicated by Mr Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail. He spent a good part of 2016 bashing the chancellor, accusing her of “ruining” Germany for allowing an influx of refugees from Syria.
“You watch what happens to Angela Merkel, who I always thought of as a very good leader until she did this. I don’t know what went wrong with her,” said then-candidate Mr Trump.
He lashed out at Time magazine when it named Ms Merkel “Person of the Year” in 2015 instead of him. In his meetings with world leaders since inauguration, Mr Trump has adopted amore diplomatic public persona. He recently spent a weekend bonding with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, golfing and dining with Mr Abe at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. But Ms Merkel is used to a different type of American leader, having shared a strong bond with president Obama.
And as the leader of Europe’ s biggest economy and most stable government, she emerged in recent years as the leading voice for a continent struggling with slow growth, identity issues and increased security threats after a string of terrorist attacks.
Ms Merkel has reportedly studied Mr Trump’s speeches and policies in advance of her trip, eager to find areas for co-operation. Steven Keil, a fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said Ms Merkel has little reason to dwell on Mr Trump’s past comments.
“Merkel is extremely pragmatic in her approach,” Mr Keil said.
President Trump has rattled European leaders with his “America first” mantra. He also backed Brexit and is sceptical of multilateral trade agreements.
Ms Merkel is expected to reiterate her belief that a strong EU remains in America’s strategic and economic interests, a message she shared lastmonth in Munich with vice-president Mike Pence.
Military matters may be testy. Mr Trump declared Nato “obsolete” before telling European leaders the alliance remains important.
But he is expected to reiterate calls for Nato members to meet a minimum commitment for defence spending.
Only the US and four other members currently reach the benchmark of spending2% of GD Pon defence – Germany lags significantly behind.