President Donald Trump is being widely quoted by European allies as making a rather disturbing statements about Germany to EU Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council president Donald Tusk. German news magazine Der Spiegel is quoting multiple sources that Trump went off on Germany over the trade surplus and said that “The Germans are evil, very evil.” (Other translations have “bad, very bad”). If true, it would not exactly be a diplomatic or even comprehensible approach. Trump also reportedly said that he would end the German car sales in the United States behind the surplus. Der Spiegel is a widely respected publication. However, this would be as big a story if the statement was not made. The article describes almost open hostility and shock toward Trump. If the statement was not made (and Juncker has not denied it), it would be evidence of an open effort by top European diplomats to portray Trump as unhinged and unstable. The White House, of course, should be able to confirm or deny the story. I truly hope that this is a fake news story because the alternative would be unnerving. [Update: The White House denies that Trump made the statement] However, the White House does not deny the car statement and only says that Trump was referring to “bad” trade policies. That would be a considerable “lost in translation” moment.
Trump is quoted as saying “Look at the millions of cars they’re selling in the US. Terrible. We will stop this.” If this statement was made, Trump could claim that he was merely talking about the trade deficit, not barring or limiting the sales of German cars (which he could not really do unilaterally). Nevertheless, the EU officials took the alleged comment as a direct threat to close the market or, as Trump previously threatened, to impose a crippling import tax on German cars coming through Mexico (Trump earlier told a German newspaper that he wanted a 35% import tax). Any such protectionist measures would be blocked in Congress and, if they were approved, would trigger a trade war that could easily cripple our own economy.
Here is the translation for the Der Spiegel article:
US President Donald Trump complained bitterly about the German trade surplus on his meeting with the EU top in Brussels. “The Germans are evil, very evil,” said Trump. This was learned by the SPIEGEL from participants in the meeting. Trump said, “Look at the millions of cars they sell in the US, and we’ll stop that.”
Once again, if this is false, Trump can finally prove an concerted effort to create fake news by one of the leading journalistic publications in the world. If it is true, the comments are alarming not just in the attacking of one of our closest allies but in isolating the United States from EU countries generally. The public has a right to know if such an alarming statement was made by our president. Even if Trump thought that this was a good bargaining approach, it is being widely reported as evidence that the President threw a “tantrum” and shocked those in the meeting with his demeanor.
It is interesting that the White House now denies the statement but there has been no denial from the Europeans. If the White House is correct, this is one of the clearest examples of a hit job by a media outfit.
Obviously, the Russians are loving all of this including Trump shoving a NATO member out of the way, which has been playing on the Russian media outfit RT:
Buffoon45 cannot be relied upon to assess any issue that requires more than 30 seconds of uninterrupted cognitive exercise. That, as we all know, was the briefing given to other nations before B45 showed up.
Knowing his limitations, it’s impossible for him to comprehend NATO members financial arrangements. Of course there’s a case for those nations’ increased payments, but that schedule is being met and no nation is in arrears. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/world/europe/nato-trump-spending.html
I like that Buffoon45 epithet.
The accuracy of the quote is actually immaterial. I am confident that whatever Mr. Trump may have said was properly regarded as another example of ignorant ranting. There will be no trade war with the EU and there will be no 35% tax on auto imports. But there will be plenty of photos and tough talk for home consumption.
Anyway, I don’t see what the big deal is since the European Commision has also been complaining about Germany’s trade surplus.
Jonathan,
Please understand that you can not rely on most news outlets for reliable information about Trump (or much else). They are not legitimate sources and you should have figured this out by now. It is a sad and unfortunate situtation, but your continued use of known propanganda outlets will eventually tarnish your reputation. We need you in the game,so please wait a little longer for stories to play out before commenting and identify more trustworthy sources of informaiton. Most mainstream news outlets in the U.S. (and Europe) are reasonably viewed as unstrustworthy by a growing majority of Americans.
AP und Der Spiegel exaggerate, according to EU commission president who was actually present when President Trump spoke
“European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said the report was “exaggerated and that Trump was “not aggressive” in his comments.”
The author of this article Jonathan Turley was not at that G7 meeting, he seems to be commenting on news reports rather than facts or as a witness. He should know better.
Right.
Europe has been very anti-American for many years now. Blaming Trump for this sentiment is specious at best. Rather then blaming America, look at what is happening in Europe. They may have generous welfare benefits, but these are rapidly being eroded by millions of economic migrants who have no education or job skills. I have read that as many as 80% of migrants are receiving some form of government aid. America came to Europe’s defense in 2 world wars and we rebuilt Europe after WW 2 under the Marshall Plan. Yet, with few exceptions, they steadfastly refuse to pay their share of NATO costs. I was highly offended at the snickering of some European leaders during Trump’s speech recently. They may not like him personally, and that is fine, but their behavior insulted the office of the American President and all Americans. It seems that Western Europe will most likely become an Islamic Caliphate sometime this century (see Douglas Murray “The Strange Death of Europe.”) I would hope America does not bail them out a third time.
Great post Roy.
Trump has criticized the violence foolishly engendered by Europe’s opening their borders to waves of refugees and migrants from countries infamous for terrorism and human rights abuses. There are now places in Europe where it is unsafe for Jews to tread…again. Tell me again how very sorry Germany feels for the Holocaust when they are making their country dangerous for Jews yet again and welcoming anti-semites yet again.
Trump has also praised Brexit. And he is not the polished statesman that a continent known for snobbery would admire.
So they sneer and mock Trump. Of course they want the trade deficit to continue and will fight to keep the money flowing. How dirty will they fight?
Thank-you for your comments. It seems like these European leaders are mostly globalists and Trump is a nationalist. They will never like him. However, I will never forget how they laughed at him during his speech.