President Donald Trump welcomed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to the White House on Thursday for the first in-person meeting between the leaders.
The meeting comes as President Trump’s promise to end the war in Ukraine has remained elusive, as the U.S. has pressured European allies to increase defense spending and sought to reset international trade with sweeping tariff policies.
"I am looking forward to the visit. We are well-prepared. NATO will be a major topic, as will trade and Ukraine. When we talk about German domestic politics (AFD), I will use clear words,” Merz said ahead of the meeting.
The U.S. has called for European allies to shoulder more responsibility in the continent's defense.
Germany has been a major backer of Ukraine’s defense amid Russia’s invasion. Merz has promised to increase pressure on Russia and military support for Ukraine, announcing lifted range restrictions last month.
"Merz is really going to be crucial because Germany is the power of Europe,” said Peter Rough, director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute. "If Europe’s really going to rearm, going to be a pull in global affairs and take ownership in a lot of issues it’s up to Berlin to lead the way."
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Merz spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a day before his meeting with President Trump, who has sought to negotiate an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine but not moved forward with further sanctions against Russia or defense spending for Ukraine.
President Trump warned Russian President Vladimir Putin said “very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields” during a conversation Wednesday, adding it was “not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace” but did not indicate whether Trump sought to dissuade him from further operations or to agree to a ceasefire.
The meeting comes ahead of the G7 and NATO summits over the next month, as the U.S. has called for NATO allies to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP.
“I think what he'll say is, we're stepping up. We're trying to provide as much support for Ukraine as we possibly can, but we cannot duplicate everything that the United States has under its own capacities. And so I think he'll make the case that, as they step up, they hope that the US will continue to deal with the situation jointly with us, and not necessarily leave us outside of discussions that are going on with the Russians,” said Jackson Janes, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund.
The meeting is also set against the backdrop of US negotiations for trade deals with other nations, including the European Union, which President Trump had threatened to increase tariffs ahead of the end of a pause in reciprocal rates absent satisfaction with good faith negotiations.
“Nuclear power issues is another question that's going to come up on the German side. So I think that, you know, the energy issue, the business of trying to take apart the question that comes up on the American side, you know, ‘we've got a terrible imbalance in terms of trade’, but not in terms of services. There, the U.S. is on top. So they're going to kind of come to grips with those particular equations, which are slightly different,” said Janes.
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President Trump’s meetings with foreign leaders in front of the press have showcased how world leaders have sought to address issues without losing U.S. support.
Merz, part of the Christian Democratic Union party, took leadership of Germany last month.
"Trump notoriously dislikes Germany, so it’s a big hurdle,” said Rough, adding that President Trump’s feelings towards Merz are “kind of an open question.”
However, President Trump and Merz may have common ground, as the German leader also navigates immigration and an effort to grow his country’s economy.
“The question is going to be whether Merz can say, I've had some business, I've had some acumen, I can share my frustrations with what's going on in my side of the ocean, immigration, getting the economy going, get the tech side up and running, and he can share that, because there's obviously issues in the same side with the United States, certainly on immigration issues,” said Janes.
But the new leader will also have to grapple with domestic politics.
“I think what would be interesting, of course, is to see what the German public responses to this, because Mr. Trump is not particularly popular in German, and it will be interesting to see how that's comes back from the meeting, and can perhaps say, look, we've got some common denominators that we can talk about, and that's encouraging,” said Janes.
“They really want it to work with the Americans. This is a very pro-American German government. They are at the same time unsure of what to make of the Trump administration. This is going to be an important meeting for them,” said Rough.
