US President Donald Trump once again raised his tone against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this Thursday (30), saying that he should focus more on “fixing” his country “in crisis” and ending the war in Ukraine than on interfering in the conflict with Iran, in yet another exchange of criticism between the two leaders.
“Germany’s chancellor should spend more time ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (where he has been completely ineffective!) and repairing his country, which is in crisis, especially over immigration and energy; and less time interfering with those who are eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” wrote the American president in Truth Social.
According to Trump, US efforts to end the Iranian regime’s nuclear program will make the world, including Germany, a safer place.
The previous day, the American leader had already said that he was evaluating a possible reduction in American troops allocated to Germany following the tension with Merz. He added that a decision could be announced in the coming days.
The conflict was inaugurated at the beginning of the week, when the German Chancellor declared that the American government does not have a coherent strategy to exit the war in the Middle East and that Tehran is “humiliating” Washington in peace negotiations.
Merz initially supported the US and Israeli attacks against Iran. However, over time, he adopted an increasingly critical stance, which led to friction with the Republican.
Trump has repeatedly criticized his European allies for not heeding the call of Washington, which, together with Israel, launched war against Tehran on February 28 without consulting or informing its NATO partners in advance.
Germany’s economy, the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world, suffered two consecutive years of recession in 2023 and 2024. Preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) indicate that there was slight growth (0.3%) in the first quarter of this year.