After escalation: Merz wants to visit Trump - "show his face"

BERLIN LIVE After escalation: Merz wants to visit Trump - "show his face" Henrik Jonathan Zinn • 5 hours • 2 minutes reading time In recent weeks, US President Trump has caused a stir on several occasions. He single-handedly sought diplomatic contact with Vladimir Putin, only to immediately rebel against the EU and once again underline his rejection of NATO. He strained economic relations by introducing new tariffs. The negative highlight was his outburst in the Oval Office when he humiliated Selenskyj in front of the US press. Now the future Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to get involved and travel to Washington. Friedrich Merz will not take over the Federal Republic of Germany in a good state. At home, the ongoing recession and the poor equipment of the Bundeswehr dominate the news, and on the international stage the relationship with the most important partner - the USA - has reached a low point. Trump has announced further tariffs, including on cars, and is hitting the German economy to the core. He has also downright humiliated the Ukrainian president in Washington and denied him any authority. In doing so, he not only sided with Kremlin chief Putin, but also against all EU partners who are in favor of defending Ukraine's integrity. CDU member Merz is also an advocate of this course. The rifts between him and Trump are therefore not small. In order to build a bridge, the 69-year-old wants to travel to Washington soon. This was indicated by Union parliamentary group vice-chairman Jens Spahn in an interview with the Tagesspiegel. "Friedrich Merz will certainly travel to the USA quickly so that the president and the new chancellor do not have to wait until the NATO summit in the summer to meet for the first time. (...) Now more than ever, [to] show his face in Washington," said Spahn. It is conceivable that Merz will set off for Washington before the swearing-in. There has not been an invitation yet.