Merz Challenges Trump Over Tariff Threat and Afghanistan Comments

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed back against Donald Trump on multiple fronts, signaling that Europe won’t bow to the US president’s intimidation while reiterating a commitment to preserving the transatlantic alliance.

In an address to parliament Thursday, Merz said the European Union’s resistance this month to Trump’s threat to slap new tariffs on nations opposing his designs on Greenland was evidence of the bloc’s “unity and determination.”