German Chancellor Friedrich Merz braves Oval Office MAGA test

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met Donald Trump on Thursday, hoping to avoid one of the US president’s Oval Office infamous ambushes amid discord over Ukraine, tariffs and the Trump administration’s support for Germany’s far-right. It was all smiles and handshakes as Republican Trump, 78 greeted the conservative Merz, 69, outside the West Wing at the start of their first face-to-face meeting. A month into his job, Merz will try to build a rapport with the mercurial Trump as he seeks to maintain good ties with the country he considers post-war Germany’s “indispensable” ally. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24’s Delano D’Souza welcomes Kristine Berzina, Managing Director of Geostrategy North at the German Marshall Fund.