Steinmeier said in the interview with ZDF on Sunday that there has “never been so much uncertainty in the history of the German-American relationship and in the transatlantic relationship as there is at the present moment.”
Still, the German President expressed hope that other elements within American politics would continue to keep the relationship in tact.
“Not all of America has forgotten the transatlantic relationship, and therefore I believe that within American politics, there will be corrections made to what we are now seeing,” he said.
US President Donald Trump (left) and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (right). Photos: DPA.
In Germany, the President is generally expected to show restraint in discussing political opinions. But Steinmeier – who became President in March – has been outspoken about his views on Trump in the past, saying that he would make foreign relations “more difficult”and blaming the American leader for division in the United States.
In his interview on Sunday, Steinmeier warned Germans against taking on feelings of moral arrogance when looking at the US.
German democracy “would not exist without the Americans,” Steinmeier insisted, referring to the Allied forces’ work to rebuild Germany and Europe after the Second World War.
“Our economic development would not have happened without the Marshall Plan,” he said.
“In this respect, I advise us not to throw everything overboard, even though I admit that I am irritated about a lot of things.”
