Trump, Merkel Have 'Great Meeting' At NATO Summit With Markedly Different Tone

Following his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Donald Trump said he had a “great meeting” as the two met on the sidelines of the NATO summit only hours after Trump had made a scathing comment about the European ally at a pre-summit breakfast, according to reports.

The contrast in their moods on coming face to face could definitely be felt when they met Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the president raised a few eyebrows when he declared to reporters that meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin might be easier than America’s NATO allies or Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May – a country the U.S. shares a special relationship with.

“So I have NATO, I have the U.K. — which is somewhat in turmoil,” Trump said. “And I have Putin. Frankly, Putin may be the easiest of them all. Who would think? Who would think?”

When faced with criticism regarding the comments just before the NATO summit, the president put the offensive on to a close American ally – Germany.

On Wednesday during breakfast with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, referring to a joint natural gas pipeline between Berlin and Moscow, the president said Merkel’s government was "totally controlled" and "captive to Russia."

“We have to talk about the billions and billions of dollars that’s being paid to the country we’re supposed to be protecting you against,” the president said. "What good is NATO if Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars for gas and energy?"

The German chancellor it seemed was not going to take this lying down as she delivered her retort swiftly and curtly.

“I have experienced myself how a part of Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union,” Merkel told reporters Wednesday having just arrived for the NATO summit in Brussels. “I am very happy that today we are united in freedom, the Federal Republic of Germany. Because of that we can say that we can make our independent policies and make independent decisions. That is very good, especially for people in eastern Germany.”

“Germany does a lot for NATO,” she added, clarifying the U.S. president’s claims about her country not contributing enough to the alliance’s budget. “Germany is the second largest provider of troops, the largest part of our military capacity is offered to NATO and until today we have a strong engagement towards Afghanistan. In that we also defend the interests of the United States.”

Via Twitter, Trump had demanded NATO members “Must pay 2% of GDP IMMEDIATELY, not by 2025.”

It was bound to be an interesting meeting when the two leaders met. And only hours after Trump had kicked off his European trip on the offensive, a marked difference in both their moods was on display as they appeared to try to get along with each other.

"We're having a great meeting. We're discussing military expenditure, talking about trade," the U.S. president said. "We have a very, very good relationship with the Chancellor. We have a tremendous relationship with Germany."

In a slightly less stoic meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump praised the former and described their relationship as tremendous. Macron spoke in French, prompting the POTUS to express that although he did not understand what was told “it sounded beautiful.”