ANALYSIS — President Donald Trump will meet Thursday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as the conservative European leader tries to cool tensions between Berlin and Washington that have worried congressional lawmakers from both parties.
Over the first four months of his second term, Trump has publicly mused, often without explanation, that it might be better for negotiations if other countries install left-leaning leaders. Still, here comes Merz, considered a social conservative back home but whose economic liberalism and embrace of global trade could complicate his relationship with the mercantilist “America First” president.
The potential clash points do not end there.
