President Obama to go to Germany
President Barack Obama will speak June 19 at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, the White House announced Wednesdaya major turnabout for Obama, whose plans to speak at the landmark were rejected during his 2008 presidential campaign.
"President Obama will speak about the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Germany, the vital importance of the transatlantic alliance, and the values that bind us together," White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement about Obama's visit with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Brandenburg Gate, which represents the division between East and West Berlin and Berlin's later reunification, was the desired site for a major 2008 speech for Obama during his first presidential campaign. But at that time, Merkel publicly rejected then-Sen. Obama's plans to use the landmark for campaign purposes.
Obama in instead delivered a speech, attended by 200,000 people, in front of Berlin's Victory Column, a nearby city landmark, during a foreign policy campaign swing.
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