German Chancellor Merkel said that her relationship with Trump is "not good."
She said, "We are not getting along well with him now."
Merkel also criticized the "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement that supports Trump. "The MAGA movement is not our movement. The way they deal with culture and media, and how they treat each other - this is not our understanding of democracy. We have a different understanding of democracy."
Comment: Merkel's remarks essentially mark a clear line between the mainstream conservative forces in Europe and the populist conservatism of Trump. Although there were differences between Germany and the US in the past, they mostly involved diplomatic and interest-level maneuvering. However, this time directly criticizing the values, culture, and ways of working of the MAGA movement indicates that the two sides are not just policy disagreements, but also fundamental cognitive oppositions on democracy, society, and alliance relations. Merkel's public expression of rejection towards the Trump camp means that Europe no longer wants to accommodate Trump for the so-called "transatlantic solidarity," and is unwilling to drag Europe into the mud of American-style confrontation, attacks, and polarization. This is a signal that Germany is trying to regain its foreign policy subjectivity, and also exposes that the U.S.-European relationship during the Trump era is no longer the kind of value-based alliance as before, but only a fragile and conflict-laden interest binding.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1860247979611339/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.