Germany’s Merz tries to downplay row with Trump – POLITICO

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sought to cool tensions Wednesday with U.S. President Donald Trump, insisting their relationship remains strong despite a sharp public spat over the Iran war.

“The personal relationship between the American president and me remains, in my view, as good as ever,” Merz said at a press conference. “We are still, to put it in American English, on good speaking terms.”

The chancellor framed his recent criticism of the conflict in the Middle East as a response to the war’s fallout, rather than Trump’s leadership. “We are suffering considerably in Germany and in Europe from the consequences of … the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, pointing to rising energy costs and economic strain.