German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil on Friday hit back at President Donald Trump and defended Chancellor Friedrich Merz against criticism of the United States.
Klingbiel’s comments came after Trump hit back at Merz, the government’s policy – and Germany – over the chancellor’s claim that Tehran had “insulted” Washington.
What did the German Vice Chancellor say?
Klingbiel, who is also Germany’s finance minister, said his country did not need tips from Trump amid the Iran war. He urged the US President to focus on ensuring peace talks.
“We really don’t need any advice from Donald Trump right now. He should look at the mess he’s made. He should make sure that serious peace talks are now taking place in Iran,” Klingbeil said at a Labor Day event in Bergkamen in the Ruhr region.
Conservative Merz and centre-left Social Democrat Klingbiel are not always on the same page politically. However, the chancellor clearly supported his coalition partner against Trump’s social media broadsides.
“I say this especially in view of the last few days, when he has been criticizing the German government and the chancellor,” Klingbeil stressed.
He said Trump now bears the responsibility to end the war and must ensure that the burden of the economic fallout does not fall on workers, consumers and businesses.
Klingbeil says Trump underestimated the deadline
The Vice Chancellor also questioned Trump’s approach and said the US President appeared to be confident that the conflict would be resolved quickly.
“I think they really thought it would be a matter of two or three days and then everything would be fine,” he said.
Klingbeil said it was important for Europe to be economically strong enough that “we do not allow ourselves to be blackmailed by anyone.” “I don’t want us to depend on what mood Donald Trump is in today or tomorrow.”
What did Trump and Merz say about each other?
Klingbeil’s comments came as Merz accused the US of entering the conflict without a clear strategy and warned that Iran was undermining Washington in negotiations.
Trump responded Thursday, saying Mertz “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” and saying he should spend “less time interfering” in U.S. efforts in Iran. He urged Merz to end the Russia–Ukraine war and focus more on “fixing our broken country”, particularly on immigration and energy.
While Friedrich Merz insists that his relations with Donald Trump remain strong, tensions have risen, with Trump threatening to reduce US troop levels in Germany.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko