German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
President Trump is scheduled to host German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House for a bilateral meeting on Thursday.
Merz is expected to arrive at 11:30 am ET and participate in the bilateral meeting at 11:45 am.
This comes as the President works to secure peace in Europe and the Middle East.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for over an hour on Wednesday about the Russia-Ukraine war and Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.
He described the talk as “not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace” due to Russian plans to retaliate against Ukrainian drone strikes, but said that Putin appears to agree with him that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons and will participate in negotiations with Iran.
JUST IN: President Trump Announces Phone Call with Putin on Recent Attacks by Ukraine and Iran Nuclear Enrichment, Says Russia Plans to Respond to Attack
The war in Ukraine and Middle East conflict will surely be a topic of today’s meeting with the German Chancellor, who oversees the largest country by population, the largest economy, and one of the largest military forces in the European Union.
Also expected to be discussed is President Trump’s July 9 deadline for imposing his threatened 50% import tariffs on the European Union.
Germany is expected to be severely impacted by the President’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, which Trump announced he is doubling from 25% to 50% during a rally at U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works plant in celebration of a new deal entered into between the American steel manufacturer and Japan’s Nippon Steel.
In particular, Germany’s economy will be hit by tariffs on automobiles from major companies such as Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche. Germany reportedly imported nearly half a million cars to the United States in 2024.
The President is also set to meet with several other world leaders and U.S. allies throughout the month of June, including a NATO gathering in the Netherlands.
Per the Washington Post:
Trump’s ally-filled June begins with an Oval Office meeting Thursday with the new German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who has already signaled a new age of cooperation with Trump by pledging to increase his country’s lagging defense spending. Merz, a former corporate lawyer, has pursued the effort with a vigor not shared by his one-time rival and predecessor, former German leader Angela Merkel, whom Trump openly snubbed.
The month continues at a Canadian ski resort with a summit of the Group of Seven major economies. A week later, Trump will travel to the Netherlands to meet leaders of the NATO defense alliance — a gathering the U.S. president loved to disrupt in his first term that is poised to endorse a new level of defense spending that seemed outlandish when Trump first proposed it.
Later in the day, President Trump is scheduled to participate in a Roundtable Discussion with the Fraternal Order of Police.
Watch Trump’s meeting with Merz live below:
The post WATCH LIVE: President Trump to Meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House – 11:45 AM ET appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.