Angela Merkel couldn't help snorting volubly as Donald Trump says he has 'German in my blood'
President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's G7 meeting exuded a weird tension between the two leaders, with Merkel even snorting volubly at one point during their conversation. Trump, while addressing the reporters during their meeting, was expressing his excitement over a proposed trip to Germany when he remarked that he has German blood in him, prompting the German Chancellor to snort and seemingly laugh at the statement.
Although Merkel and Trump have never shared a warm relationship, the president, during their meeting in Biarritz, France this weekend, lavished the chancellor with praise.
Trump said that Merkel is a "brilliant woman" who "understands exactly where everything is, she knows it before most people," according to Deutsche Welle. The German Chancellor has reportedly planned to step away from politics after the conclusion of her fourth term in 2021. Trump, however, suggested that Merkel may surprise her observers and be around "for a long time."
A journalist, during the duo's meeting on Monday, asked Merkel whether she had invited Trump for a bilateral visit to Germany, to which the chancellor said that she had done so "on previous occasions." The president has not yet made a full diplomatic visit to Germany despite visiting the UK and France twice in over two years.
"We'll be there...we're very honored by the invitation—and that's true—and we will be there. Maybe soon," Trump said during the meeting. Then he went on to say: "I have German in my blood," eliciting raised eyebrows and a snort from Merkel.
Trump, who has often talked about his European heritage in the past, had claimed until the 1980s that his grandfather came from Sweden and not Germany, according to The Telegraph. The outlet reported that he may have done so in an attempt to hide the family's German links after World War II and the Holocaust.
Shortly after the news of his prospective trip to Germany began making the news, many German social media users opposed it as the hashtag #TrumpNotWelcome began trending.