This is crazy! I just saw over a dozen American sources in my newsfeed share the story that Trump refused to shake Merkel’s hand. At that exact same time, my Spanish sources are publishing stories titled “Trump and Merkel Shake Hands” and accompany them with this photo. Spanish sources also insist that the meeting was very cordial while American sources are unanimous that it was extremely tense.
Somebody’s gone nutso.
That was earlier when reporters asked them to shake hands for a photo op. She offered, he didn’t say anything. Here:
https://twitter.com/worldonalert/status/842833682322898944
Notice how (even more) weird his body language gets in the presence of powerful women? I still remember how he creepily invaded Clinton’s space in the debates.
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Most striking to me in that photo-op was how Trump refused even to look Merkel’s way. I am guessing that she read him the riot act on the EU, Russia, and NATO and that he was sulking bitterly.
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“I am guessing that she read him the riot act on the EU, Russia, and NATO ”
But….. what room does she have to lecture anybody on any of these topics?
Her ruthless attacks on Greek democracy, not to mention her reckless, feckless and incredibly destructive “refugee” policy did more to further Putin’s goals of wrecking the EU than any other single figure. She couldn’t have done more for him if she were trying.
And Germany gets to lecture the US on NATO when it starts meeting its budgetary obligations to same. Back in February she said something about “eventually” doing so but in politics “eventual” = never.
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The Spanish sources say Putin was not mentioned. I believe them because Spain has no reason to like Trump and really no reason to like Merkel.
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The photo in your post was from their initial greeting, before she reamed him out (in my theory).
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I 100% agree with Trump, if the reporting is correct:
\ “Immigration is a privilege, not a right, and the safety of our citizens must always come first, without question,” he added.
…
“I reiterated to Chancellor Merkel my strong support for NATO as well as the need for our NATO allies to pay their fair share for the cost of defense. Many nations owe vast sums of money from past years, and it is very unfair to the United States. These nations must pay what they owe.”
I was also surprised to discover he has a sense of humor:
\ Merkel maintained her composure even when Trump repeated his contention that former president Barack Obama may have tapped his phones in Trump Tower. He sought to turn the explosive charge into a light joke when asked about concerns raised by the British government that the White House is now citing a debunked claim that UK spies snooped on Trump.
“At least we have something in common, perhaps,” Trump said casually, In 2013 the German government said it had information that the United States may have monitored Merkel’s mobile phone, prompting her to call Obama to demand immediate clarification.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4936948,00.html
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“The safety of our citizens comes first,” said the man who just took away healthcare from 20 million citizens.
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ALL governments are obligated to provide “safety” for their people — that’s a bedrock requirement of the nation-state. Whether “healthcare” is a government responsibility is a completely separate issue.
In my young adulthood before I joined the U.S. military at age 31, I had absolutely NO health insurance. Several insurance agents tried to sell me policies, but I took the chance that at my age there was no good reason to spend money on services that I probably wouldn’t need. (Under Obamacare I would have been forced to either buy a “qualifying policy” or pay a tax penalty — in other words, forced to buy unnecessary insurance to subsidize healthcare for people older and sicker than I was. Bad idea, no thanks!)
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I most sincerely hope that the Trump voters whose healthcare coverage he will take away think that it’s worth it because he made them safer in other ways. If that’s their position, then good for them. It’s their funeral. Literally.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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