Merkel's Courting of Trump Undermined by U.S. Unpredictability
- Tillerson, Mnuchin, Spicer comments unsettle German government
- ‘Hopefully it doesn’t go on like this,’ Schaeuble says
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington, D.C. on on March 17, 2017.
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Just when Angela Merkel thought she’d gotten a grip on Donald Trump’s administration, the U.S. is swinging back out of reach.
In the space of a few hours on Tuesday, U.S. officials riled the German government on trade, Russia and Ukraine, all issues of key importance to Merkel. White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s reference to Adolf Hitler in relation to Syria only compounded the impression of a gaffe-prone administration with a shaky sense of historic context.