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President Donald Trump gestures towards the clicking as he greets German Chancellor Friedrich Merz upon arrival on the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 5, 2025.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s assembly with U.S. President Donald Trump used to be dramatically overshadowed by means of the U.S. chief’s spat with Elon Musk. But it used to be nonetheless noticed as a win for Merz.
“Being sidelined is not necessarily always a bad thing,” Carsten Brzeski, world head of macro at ING, informed CNBC on Friday. “In fact, it might have even helped Merz as the Musk distraction was also deviating attention away from more controversial topics.
It was a high-stakes trip for Merz, who is just a few weeks into his chancellorship, especially given the treatment other leaders have gotten from Trump in the Oval Office in recent months.
As such, Merz is unlikely to be disappointed about the outcome — especially given the potential downsides.
“Having have shyed away from an escalation within the Oval Office is already an success in this day and age,” Brzeski added.
A full agenda
Merz arrived in D.C. with a full agenda that ranged from strengthening relations between the U.S. and Germany, to tariffs — which could significantly impact key German industries — as well as U.S. support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and higher NATO defense spending.
While we don’t know what was discussed behind closed doors, Merz was seemingly able to address most of these points with Trump, political strategist Julius van de Laar told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday.
“I feel what Friedrich Merz were given throughout is that he hopes that the U.S. president will proceed to reinforce Ukraine,” he said, noting that the issue had gathered momentum recently given several significant attacks. Merz was able to pick up on this, and draw links to the anniversary of D-Day a day after their meeting.
“And he mentioned the United States performed a perfect function in … liberating Europe from the Nazi regime again then, and so he is hoping that Donald Trump will … say we are going to get engaged once more and assist Europe develop into freed from dictatorship,” van de Laar said.
Merz making this point was important in the context of highlighting the U.S-German relationship, according to Jackson Janes, senior resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund. Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe,” he also pointed out that Trump was gifted his grandfather’s birth certificate by Merz, “making the purpose ‘you might have a dating with Germany for your personal circle of relatives.'”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz presents US President Donald Trump with what Merz said was the birth certificate of Trump’s grandfather, who was born in 1869, during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 5, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images
Janes also noted that Merz highlighting Germany’s plans for higher defense spending would have marked a positive note in the discussion.
Germany recently changed its fiscal rules to allow for higher defense spending, and Merz’s government seems to be making it a priority. The chancellor has promised a financial push to boost the German military, and the country’s foreign minister has suggested support for Trump’s proposal that NATO members spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense.
Meanwhile, the sensitive topic of Germany’s far-right party, the Alternative fuer Deutschland, was seemingly avoided. Officials in the Trump administration have in recent weeks come out in support of the party after German intelligence services classified it as a “confirmed right-wing extremist group.”
This led to clapbacks from German politicians, with Merz himself warning the U.S. not to get involved. The classification of the AfD is currently on hold amid a legal challenge.
‘A home run’ for Merz
All in all, Merz’s visit to D.C. was seen as “a house run or a hollow in a single,” van de Laar said.
ING’s Brzeski also suggested that the trip laid good foundations between the leaders. “There appears to be some not unusual grounds between Trump and Merz, which might be the seeds for a extra positive dating,” he said.
Merz even appeared to get some compliments from Trump, with the president commending him for his English skills and saying that while “tricky,” the German leader was a “excellent guy to handle.”
Following the assembly, Merz gave the impression glad, pronouncing in a social media put up that the ambience used to be “in reality excellent,” and that the two have much in common. “I’m coming again with the sensation that we will be able to discuss at the telephone any time,” he said, according to a CNBC translation.
But even an in-person reunion might not be too far off: a Trump trip to Berlin is already being planned, Merz told German media.
