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Donald Trump has had a whirlwind of a week, but now he’s had a learning moment after making a bizarre comment to a German official.
President Trump and Chancellor Friedrich Merz met at the Oval Office on Thursday (5 June) and discussed how the Russian war against Ukraine was ravaging the population, noting the death toll.
As the war has been going on for three years now, with numerous missiles fired on either side of the border, Trump has been fancying himself as a peace talker.
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Having met with both leaders of the countries to attempt to bridge the gap, things began to look promising, until the POTUS upset the Russian Kremlin, leading them to call him 'emotional', and declaring his tirade against Putin on Truth Social, an outburst.
Since then, things quieted down until Trump met with Merz.
That’s when he made a shocking claim to the Chancellor of Germany, and it might become a mistake he’ll never forget.
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After noting how many had died in the war, which is a war that has been the deadliest in Europe since WWII, Merz explained that ‘tomorrow’ (6 June) will mark the 81st anniversary of Operation Overlord.
This Operation was an allied effort by the US, UK, Canadian and Free French troops to storm to beaches of Normandy and stop Adolf Hitler’s campaign of terror.
He added: “I'm here, Mr. President, to talk with you later on on how we could contribute to that goal. And we all are looking for measures and for instruments to bring this terror war to an end. And may I remind you that we are having June 6 tomorrow. This is D-Day anniversary when the Americans once ended a war in Europe.”
This is when Trump seemingly tried to get smart, stating: “That was not a pleasant day for you.”
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Merz then appeared to correct Trump about the meaning of the day, responding: “In the long run, Mr. President, this was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship.”
The chancellor continued by saying that Germans are aware that America helped to liberate the country and that now, in modern times, the US ‘again in a very strong position’ to help end Russia’s war come to an end.
He said: “We know what we owe you, but this is the reason why I'm saying that America is again, in a very strong position to do something on this war and ending this war. So let's talk about what we can do jointly, and we are ready to do what we can.”
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People online who watched the exchange were outraged at Trump’s comments about the past, with many taking to X to air out their frustrations.
One wrote: “What an embarrassment.”
Someone else commented: “A lot of people died that day. Especially young German men.”
Trump was also asked whether the European country was doing enough to meet NATO spending commitments on its defence.
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He said: “I'm not sure that General MacArthur would have said it's positive, you know, he wouldn't like it, but I sort of think it's good.
“He made a statement, never let Germany rearm. And I said, I always think about that. When he says, ‘Sir, we're spending more money on defence,’ I say, ‘Oh, is that a good thing or a bad thing?’ I think it's a good thing. But you know, at least to a certain point, there'll be a point where say, please don't arm anymore. If you don't mind.”
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News
Britt Jones