It was not a great meeting… by any stretch of the imagination. The Local wrote on March 18: “Stark differences between President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on everything from trade to immigration were in full view during an icy first meeting at the White House Friday. In a frequently awkward joint press conference, Trump and Merkel showed little common ground…”
The New York Times added on March 17: “Worlds apart in style and policy, Mr. Trump and Mrs. Merkel… could not disguise the gulf that separates them…”
The Daily Mail supplied the following interesting comments on March 17:
“The two ‘could hardly be more contradictory’… President Trump defended his chilly summit with Merkel on Twitter Saturday, insisting it was a ‘great meeting’ – and immediately blasting Germany for owing what he said were ‘vast sums of money’ to NATO. He claimed that all reports criticizing their meeting were ‘fake news.'”
The idea that Germany owes money to NATO or the USA was strongly rejected by American and German newspapers alike.
The Washington Post wrote on March 18: “[Former] U.S. ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder wrote that… [the] alliance gave all member states until 2024 to reach that goal, and Germany is on track. ‘Trump’s comments misrepresent the way NATO functions,’ Daalder told us… ‘that’s not how it works.'”
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen simply stated that there ”is no debt account at NATO,” adding however that it was necessary “to have a ‘modern security concept’ that included… a European defense union…'” (Reuters, March 19).
On the other hand, German journalists received much praise from their somewhat intimidated American colleagues, for asking pointed questions during the joint press conference. As Deutsche Welle reported on March 17, “Politico reporter Tara Palmeri admitted… ‘The German press shamed us.’ Trump was also asked point-blank by one reporter [from Die Welt] why he keeps making statements he knows are not true. It was a question that… ‘shocked’ US reporters… The straightforward line of questioning visibly put off Trump… Rarely has [Trump] appeared so uncomfortable…”
President Trump is not one who can easily forgive and forget, as he has admitted in interviews. His impulsiveness is well-known and reflected by his emotional nightly tweets. To believe that the relationship between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Merkel will substantially improve would be naïve. And IF Mrs. Merkel will be replaced in September by her challenger Martin Schulz, then the relationship between Germany and the USA might deteriorate even further, as Mr. Schulz is known for being very outspoken (not as reserved and at times “stone-faced” as Angela Merkel), and he is an open critic of Donald Trump.
Deutsche Welle wrote on March 19 about Mr. Schulz: “[T]he former president of the European Parliament… vigorously defended his party’s support for the European Union… Schulz also took potshots at US President Donald Trump, saying that an election like that in the United States featuring ‘fake news’ and the ‘denigration of whole groups of the population’ had ‘no place in Germany.’ ‘A German chancellor can take a clear negative position’ toward the US, Schulz added…”
Both Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Schulz are strong supporters of the EU, which Mr. Trump opposes. On almost every issue of international consequence, Germany and the USA are in disagreement. Mr. Trump is extremely disliked by the vast majority of the German people (despite the fact that Mr. Trump is of German heritage). Focus wrote on March 17: “This President is anything else but a natural friend of the Germans. His government will not consider the obligations and needs of their allies.”
Even in the USA, President Trump’s popularity declines (notwithstanding some “reports” by Breitbart and the Hannity Show). But Donald Trump will be the President for at least four more years, enjoying the approval of unwavering core supporters, and he can rule with an iron fist within his realm of authority… no matter how the majority of American citizens might feel. And in times of hostility and danger, patriotic Americans will support their President in his fight against foreign enemies, regardless of what they might think about him.
The relationship between Germany and the USA has always been a difficult one. As we explain on page 17 of our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” “German Kaiser Wilhelm II had a plan to attack the United States about 100 years ago… His ultimate goal was to establish and possess colonies in South America and in the Pacific, and to gain control over the Panama Canal. The plan, though 10 years in the making, was not carried out. Instead, Kaiser Wilhelm II led Germany into World War I in 1914.
“In addition to Adolph Hitler’s attack on Great Britain, he also declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941. This was just two days after President Roosevelt announced that Germany was as guilty for attacking Pearl Harbor as was Japan. Hitler then ordered the destruction of all American ships, wherever they could be found. Hitler lost this war, as he fought too many battles at the same time…”
We reveal in our free literature that Germany is the modern descendant of ancient Assyria, while the United States is the modern descendant of one of the two most prominent tribes of the ancient house of Israel. As Assyria defeated and enslaved the house of Israel in ancient times, so it is prophesied that another war between these powers will occur in the last days, with devastating results. The difference will be that this time, Assyria (modern Germany) will not act alone, but it will lead a power bloc of ten European nations or groups of nations (the final revival of the ancient Roman Empire), and the ensuing war will be fought with nuclear weapons, destroying all major cities in the USA and exterminating millions upon millions of Americans. But after God has performed His punishment of the modern house of Israel, calling it an “ungodly nation” (Isaiah 10:6), He will then direct His wrath against Germany and the entire European power bloc, leading to their destruction, because they are not any more righteous than the American nation.
All of this will happen soon, no matter what people may want to believe or reject. God calls this coming time the “great tribulation, such as not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21; compare also Daniel 12:1).
Are you getting spiritually ready for this time? “Sudden destruction” will come upon this world (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3). But you could “escape all these things that will come to pass” (Luke 21:36). Our free literature tells you how.
