President Joe Biden and German chancellor Angela Merkel’s gathering at the White House wasn’t just your routine meeting with a fellow head of state, it was also a return to normal relations with one of the United States’ closest allies. According to The Washington Post:
Beyond the specific agenda, the meeting carried symbolism as Biden highlights his message that the U.S.-European alliance is back on track after the disruptions of the Trump years.
This quote from Merkel made it clear that she is quite happy Biden is president:
We all share the same values. We all share the same determination to tackle the challenges of our times, to master them. And I’m deeply convinced that simply committing to these values is certainly not sufficient. We are living at a crucial moment in time where we are facing new challenges, and these challenges need to be translated into practical policies.
Values and practical policies—Those certainly were absent from words Merkel ever used to describe Biden’s predecessor. Both Biden and Merkel also remarked more than once that they are friends. Biden at one point said, “Good friends can disagree.”
This comes just hours after CNN published an excerpt from the new book, “I Alone Can Fix It,” where it’s alleged Trump called Merkel two derogatory terms:
The book quotes Trump, who had a strained relationship with Merkel, as telling his advisers during an Oval Office meeting about NATO and the US relationship with Germany, “That b*tch Merkel.”
“‘I know the f**king krauts,’ the president added, using a derogatory term for German soldiers from World War I and World War II.”
There were also previous reports that Trump called Merkel “stupid” to her face.
Similar settings, different worlds.
Merkel meeting Biden in the Oval today (pic by @Doppelgeist60)
and Merkel meeting Trump in April 2018 pic.twitter.com/QPrmbDaQEB— Alexandra von Nahmen (@AlexandravonNah) July 15, 2021
You don’t need words because the pictures below tell the story of Merkel’s relationship with the four U.S. presidents who have served during her terms.
In 16 Jahren erlebte Angela Merkel 4 US-Präsidenten. Mit allen wusste sie irgendwie umzugehen. Aber was hat das der transatlantischen Freundschaft gebracht?
Analyse @tonline zur letzten US-Reise der Kanzlerin. https://t.co/eXJ4S3na6N#Bush #Obama #Trump #Biden pic.twitter.com/81gq9jLje6— Bastian Brauns (@BastianBrauns) July 15, 2021
Merkel also seemed to get along well with Vice President Kamala Harris as the German Embassy tweeted this picture with the word, “History.”
Merkel has been Chancellor for 4 American presidencies – Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden. This is her first trip to @VP residence. She knows how important it is for the world – particularly young girls and boys – to see the message in this photo: Women lead. https://t.co/SCsoCMLL1I
— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) July 15, 2021