After Trump’s visit to the NATO headquarters in Belgium a few days ago, where he referred to the Germans as “very bad” for their trade practices and chastised his fellow heads of state for “not paying what they should be paying” on defense, I wasn’t all that surprised to see our long-time allies beginning to push back. I was, however, struck by how blunt German Chancellor Angela Merkel was this past weekend, when she said to the German press, “The times when we could fully rely on others have passed us by a little bit, that’s what I’ve experienced in recent days.” [German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel later echoed Merkel’s comment, adding that the U.S. was “dropping out as an important nation.” He went on to add, “Anyone who accelerates climate change by weakening environmental protection, who sells more weapons in conflict zones, and who does not want to politically resolve religious conflicts, is putting peace in Europe at risk.”]
Trump, as you probably could have predicted, responded by doubling down on his claim that the “very bad” Germans had been taking advantage of us.
We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2017
Yes, our leader has apparently not only chosen to ignore the unanimous finding of our nation’s 17 intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in our election, but he’s attacking those allies who, until recently, were aligned with us in standing up to Russian aggression.
Merkel, perhaps in response to Trump’s most recent Twitter storm, walked her comment back a bit earlier today, stating that “The trans-Atlantic partnership is of outstanding importance.” She then went on to add that she “merely meant to note that in view of the current situation there are more reasons… for us in Europe to take our fate into our own hands.”
Sean Spicer, for what it’s worth, also tried to gloss it over today in his White House press conference, saying that Trump’s relationship with Merkel is “fairly unbelievable.” I thin, however, we can all see what’s going on. Donald Trump, whether purposefully or not, is distancing us from our most trusted allies.
As former NATO envoy Ivo H. Daalder told The New York Times today, “This seems to be the end of an era, one in which the United States led and Europe followed” “Today,” he went on to say, “the United States is heading into a direction on key issues that seems diametrically opposite of where Europe is heading… The president’s failure to endorse Article 5 in a speech at NATO headquarters, his continued lambasting of Germany and other allies on trade, his apparent decision to walk away from the Paris climate agreement – all suggest that the United States is less interested in leading globally than has been the case for the lat 70 years.”
And, whether by design or not, all of this works to the advantage of Putin and Russians, who have long wanted to drive a wedge been the United States and its European allies.
So with post-Brexit England leaving the European Union, and Trump doing everything in his power to distance us from the other members of NATO, it looks as though Germany has taken on the job of global defender of liberty and democracy.
And I know it’s little consolation for those of us living under the shadow of Trump, but it would appear as though our President is bringing the people of Germany together in a way previously thought impossible. Here, in evidence of this, is recent footage of Merkel’s chief German rival, Martin Schulz, taking her side against Trump.
Remarkable attack on Trump's treatment of Merkel by her chief rival Martin Schulz. pic.twitter.com/IvK1AVf9Nq
— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) May 29, 2017
So, with the United States effectively abdicating its role as the leader of the free world, the baton has been passed to Germany… Here’s hoping they’re up to the task.
For what it’s worth, it looks like they’re off to a pretty good start, telling us today that they don’t want to have us anywhere near their upcoming election… And who can blame them, considering what happened here.
NBC's @RichardEngel breaks: Sr. US intel offical says German intel told US it does *not* need help safeguarding Germany's upcoming election. pic.twitter.com/gynfDI4k1s
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 30, 2017
One last thing, it’s also been suggested that perhaps some of Trump’s anger toward Germany is due to the fact that their intelligence community has stepped up efforts in recent weeks to unravel Trump’s finances, especially as they relate to Russia, sharing whatever information the find with U.S. investigators… One can only hope.
11 Comments
Re: “Donald Trump is distancing us from our most trusted allies. “
One of the patterns of abuse you often see is an abuser isolating the victim from their friends and families. Pretty soon America will be trying to hide a black eye
That very analogy had occurred to me as well, Lynne. Let’s hope we can get away before it’s too late.
The Atlantic: “The Death Knell for America’s Global Leadership”
Read more:
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/mcmaster-cohn-trump/528609/
In case you missed it.
Trump’s special animus toward Germany is stupid and dangerous: http://slate.me/2roFq1v
And then there was this.
Trump’s reported exit from Paris climate deal signals end of the American Century http://thkpr.gs/ec5ee0742f8a
Given Trump’s disregard for international trade agreements, a Germany-led-EU, along with China & India, will find it easier to impose CO2 tariffs which might otherwise be limited by bodies like the WTO and other “free trade” agreements. If Trump had pulled out of Paris but was otherwise committed to the current international free trade regime, he’d have stronger tools to avoid tariff-based punishments for failure to cooperate. Abandoning or reopening those agreements for negotiation lets other countries play hardball while protecting their competitive advantage by developing & deploying future-proof tech and infrastructure. Stepping back from Paris is a bad economic move for the US.
Thank you, Scott, for your analysis. It’s much appreciated.
It’s also worth noting that Germany gets a reported 85% of its electricity from renewables.
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/05/08/germany-breaks-solar-record-gets-85-electricity-renewables/
I don’t see how turning to Germany is going to help us st all. How is Germany going to help us deal with race and being black in America? How is Germany going to help us with health care reform and the opioid epidemic in rural America? Why is it so important for US to be the leader of the free world? It’s ironic that other countries that many of us desire the US to be more like, such as Canada, Sweden, or Denmark, have never aspired to be world powers, content to bask in the shadow of American military and economic dominance. Maybe that’s why they can devote more energies to looking after internal affairs.
“That very analogy had occurred to me as well, Lynne. Let’s hope we can get away before it’s too late.”
I don’t like your conclusion that Americans should escape, when it is Trump who deserves to be cast out.
The New Yorker: “The astonishing rise of Angela Merkel, the most powerful woman in the world.”
Read more:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/01/quiet-german