A question of trust: Merkel treads carefully with Trump
Tue May 16, 2017 | 5:54am EDT
By Noah Barkin and Jeff Mason | BERLIN/WASHINGTON
Last month, in a phone conversation between Donald Trump and Angela Merkel, the U.S. president shared his views on Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan. "He's a great guy", Trump told the German chancellor, according to sources familiar with the exchange.
Merkel listened politely before pointing out that Erdogan had been lobbing vitriol at Germany and its European allies for weeks, denouncing them as the descendents of Nazis.
Trump was surprised, the sources said. He appeared unaware that Ankara and Berlin were in the midst of a fierce diplomatic row over whether Turkish ministers should be allowed to campaign in Germany for a referendum on boosting Erdogan's powers.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The German government declined comment, citing the confidential nature of the call.
The exchange, weeks after Merkel paid her first visit to Trump in Washington, underscored the challenge the German leader faces as she tries to forge a relationship with a president that half a dozen European officials who spoke to Reuters described as erratic, ill prepared and prone to rhetorical excess.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-merkel-analysis-idUSKCN18C0XV
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