AP, Berlin :
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about Democratic lawmakers of color, saying they run counter to what she considers “the strength of America” and expressing solidarity with the women.
Merkel was asked at her annual summer news conference whether there she still sees a basis of common values with Trump after he said the congresswomen should “go back” to their own countries if they don’t like America. All of the congresswomen are Americans, and three of them were born in the United States.
“People of very different nationalities have contributed to the strength of the American people, so these are … comments that very much run counter to this firm impression that I have,” said Merkel. “This is something that contradicts the strength of America.”
Pressed later on whether she feels solidarity with the congresswomen, she replied: “Yes. I distance myself firmly from this and feel solidarity with the three women who were attacked.”
Pressed later on whether she feels solidarity with the congresswomen, she replied: “Yes. I distance myself firmly from this and feel solidarity with the three women who were attacked.”
Trump actually targeted four freshman Democratic lawmakers – Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley.
Merkel, a strong advocate of a multilateral approach to world affairs who took a welcoming approach to an influx of refugees and other migrants in 2015, has had a cool relationship with Trump.
BERLIN, July 19 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Merkel on Friday distanced herself from U.S. President Donald Trump’s comment that four minority Democratic congresswomen should “go back” to where they came from.
Trump told four lawmakers – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan – to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”.
All four of them are U.S. citizens and three of them were born in the United States
“I decisively distance myself from that and I feel solidarity with the … attacked women,” Merkel told a news conference. (Reporting by Michelle Martin Editing by Paul Carrel)
Trump actually targeted four freshman Democratic lawmakers – Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley.
Merkel, a strong advocate of a multilateral approach to world affairs who took a welcoming approach to an influx of refugees and other migrants in 2015, has had a cool relationship with Trump.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s heir apparent joined her cabinet Wednesday as defence minister, a high-profile job often called a poisoned chalice in Berlin’s fraught political landscape.
The surprise appointment of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer late Tuesday came just hours after the current head of the German military, Ursula von der Leyen, was elected as the first woman to lead the European Commission.
The decision by AKK, as she is commonly known, to take charge of a sprawling administration widely seen as unwieldy and scandal-prone was described as a risky gambit to shore up political support.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about Democratic lawmakers of color, saying they run counter to what she considers “the strength of America” and expressing solidarity with the women.
Merkel was asked at her annual summer news conference whether there she still sees a basis of common values with Trump after he said the congresswomen should “go back” to their own countries if they don’t like America. All of the congresswomen are Americans, and three of them were born in the United States.
“People of very different nationalities have contributed to the strength of the American people, so these are … comments that very much run counter to this firm impression that I have,” said Merkel. “This is something that contradicts the strength of America.”
Pressed later on whether she feels solidarity with the congresswomen, she replied: “Yes. I distance myself firmly from this and feel solidarity with the three women who were attacked.”
Pressed later on whether she feels solidarity with the congresswomen, she replied: “Yes. I distance myself firmly from this and feel solidarity with the three women who were attacked.”
Trump actually targeted four freshman Democratic lawmakers – Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley.
Merkel, a strong advocate of a multilateral approach to world affairs who took a welcoming approach to an influx of refugees and other migrants in 2015, has had a cool relationship with Trump.
BERLIN, July 19 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Merkel on Friday distanced herself from U.S. President Donald Trump’s comment that four minority Democratic congresswomen should “go back” to where they came from.
Trump told four lawmakers – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan – to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”.
All four of them are U.S. citizens and three of them were born in the United States
“I decisively distance myself from that and I feel solidarity with the … attacked women,” Merkel told a news conference. (Reporting by Michelle Martin Editing by Paul Carrel)
Trump actually targeted four freshman Democratic lawmakers – Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley.
Merkel, a strong advocate of a multilateral approach to world affairs who took a welcoming approach to an influx of refugees and other migrants in 2015, has had a cool relationship with Trump.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s heir apparent joined her cabinet Wednesday as defence minister, a high-profile job often called a poisoned chalice in Berlin’s fraught political landscape.
The surprise appointment of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer late Tuesday came just hours after the current head of the German military, Ursula von der Leyen, was elected as the first woman to lead the European Commission.
The decision by AKK, as she is commonly known, to take charge of a sprawling administration widely seen as unwieldy and scandal-prone was described as a risky gambit to shore up political support.
