During a campaign forum on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel took a moment to weigh in on the “America First” push that led U.S. President Donald Trump to victory, calling it an idea that, in the end, will lead to some painful results at home and abroad.
In her opinion, “America that doesn’t bother with anything in the world but only with itself will not be a great America”. Instead she sees everyone winning if we all work together, aka globalization, something Trump has taken a hard stance against.
Well aware that Trump’s “America First” movement is here to stay for the time being, Merkel continued to stress that Europe needs to continue working close together to shift reliance away from the United States and “formulate its own interests”.
Not all words about Trump were harsh however. Merkel did express her respect for the president, having risen to the top during a messy campaign on all sides. “He won a tough campaign. No matter my opinion of him, he deserves respect,” Merkel said.
