BERLIN (Reuters) – Friedrich Merz, the leading candidate for the chancellery in Germany’s upcoming election, said a leaked briefing by Germany’s ambassador to the United States heavily criticising Donald Trump was damaging to the German government’s reputation.
Reuters exclusively reported on Saturday details from the briefing by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis, dated Jan. 14, which said Trump’s agenda would undermine basic democratic principles, rob law enforcement and the media of their independence, and empower tech firms.
Any requests for dialogue with the administration by the current German government would likely now be rejected, Merz told Germany’s Deutschlandfunk radio on Tuesday.
“This message from Washington is written in the language of a political activist. And it has obviously been deliberately made public,” Merz added, deeming the leaking a serious mistake for German foreign policy.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
