U.S. President Donald Trump criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, urging the German leader to devote more attention to ending the Russia-Ukraine war and to domestic challenges rather than intervening in efforts to counter the Iran nuclear threat.
Trump published his remarks on Truth Social after recent friction between the two leaders over the war in Iran. The president referenced comments made by Merz earlier in the week about negotiations involving Iran.
"The Chancellor of Germany should spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (Where he has been totally ineffective!), and fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy, and less time on interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat, thereby making the World, including Germany, a safer place!"
The post follows an exchange that unfolded earlier in the week when Merz said Iranians were humiliating the U.S. in talks to end the two-month-old war. Trump responded on Tuesday by saying Merz "didn’t know what he was talking about," escalating the public disagreement between the two leaders.
The president's message framed his criticism around two themes: urging Merz to pursue a stronger role in resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict and pointing to internal German issues such as immigration and energy. Trump characterized Merz's record on the Russia-Ukraine war as "totally ineffective" and positioned involvement against the Iran nuclear threat as contributing to global and German security.
Observers will note the exchange is the latest instance of public policy disagreement between the two leaders on foreign affairs. The article does not provide additional detail on subsequent diplomatic exchanges or on direct responses from Chancellor Merz following Thursday's post.
Beyond the posted remarks and the earlier comment by Merz, the report contains no further information on negotiations, timelines, or policy actions related to the Russia-Ukraine war or the Iran nuclear threat.