TRANSLATION:
President Donald Trump and the American people will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States on July 4th; they may well be keeping it a rather private affair. Many high-ranking foreign guests have apparently not yet announced their attendance at the major event, at least not from Europe. Perhaps French President Emmanuel Macron will make an appearance, it is said. But only perhaps. According to current plans, German participation in the celebrations is limited to a visit by the naval training ship "Gorch Fock" to New York Harbor.
A similar picture could emerge at this year's FIFA World Cup , which will also be held in the USA from June 11th .
The USA is currently unpopular in Europe and Germany. Even the Chancellor, a former head of the German-American friendship organization Atlantik-Brücke, now views the country very critically. He would currently advise his children against pursuing education and work in the USA, Friedrich Merz explained at the Catholic Congress. The reason, he said, is the "social climate" that has "suddenly" developed in the United States. Furthermore, he added, career prospects are poor for the most highly qualified. "I am a great admirer of America, and my admiration is not increasing at the moment," Merz said.
These are harsh words. They are unfair and wrong. Any German politician who speaks like this is stoking anti-Americanism. It's one thing to criticize Donald Trump and his administration for their policies or style. In many cases, that's justified. But it's quite another to hold the entire country and its inhabitants responsible for these policies, to condemn them, or even to boycott them, as Merz indirectly suggests with his statements. Such sweeping judgments about the USA are misleading.
America's democracy is resilient
One could argue that the Americans are themselves to blame for the anti-US sentiment in Europe. After all, they elected a president who constantly treats friends and foes alike, in other words, alienating half the world in their name. But it's not that simple.
Around 77 million people voted for Donald Trump; that's not even half of all voters and less than a quarter of the country's total population. There were and still are many millions of Trump critics and opponents in the US. In addition, there are millions of Trump defectors: many of his voters, especially the "independents"—people without a clear party affiliation—are now turning away from Trump. They regret their 2024 election decision and feel deceived by him. For example, polls show that more than 60 percent of Americans believe the president's war against Iran was wrong.
Of course, there are many very worrying developments in the US, such as Trump's attempts to have unwelcome critics persecuted by the justice system, or the disproportionately harsh actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). But so far, the US has not transformed into a police state or a dictatorship. US democracy is too resilient for that. The strict US entry controls at airports, which are so widely discussed in Germany, have been expanded under almost every president since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Furthermore, most predictions in Europe about the economic decline of the US are wrong. Merz should know this. Therefore, the question arises whether he isn't primarily trying to deflect attention from his own political failures. Economic dynamism and growth have been more robust in the US than in Germany for years. The AI revolution is taking place in America and China; Europe is lagging behind. The US has more innovative capacity and fewer bureaucratic hurdles. It also continues to be home to some of the world's best universities.
While the US job market is under pressure due to AI, and young graduates are seriously worried about the future, the job outlook is not as bleak as Merz would have us believe. Above all, their salaries have risen sharply. There are many indications that these trends will continue.
Quite apart from that, Merz's remarks are politically unwise. He makes it easy for Trump to rail against him personally, the German government, or Germany in general. It remains in Germany's interest to maintain a long-term alliance with the US, regardless of who occupies the White House. This doesn't mean kowtowing to Trump. But at the same time, a German government shouldn't provoke unnecessary conflicts with him.
Posted by Free-Minimum-5844
9 Comments
Atlanticism is unwise and wrong.
> One could argue that the Americans are themselves to blame for the anti-US sentiment in Europe. After all, they elected a president who constantly treats friends and foes alike, in other words, alienating half the world in their name. But it’s not that simple.
> Around 77 million people voted for Donald Trump; that’s not even half of all voters and less than a quarter of the country’s total population. There were and still are many millions of Trump critics and opponents in the US.
I am tired of this argument, it could maybe fly in 2016 (Where Hillary did win the popular vote and we only had words from Trump, rancid words but still words)
But it was 2024, people already knew what kind of President and person Trump is, people already saw first hand the differences between a Trump Presidency and a not-Trump presidency, and he still got more votes than ever and 90 million people did not come to stop him.
That is the funny thing of liberal democracies, you gotta live and be reflected by the results.
Say what you want about France , but no centrist respectable publication would have such a pathetic vassal state like editorial .
Der Spiegel is wrong and unwise
Russia will never wage another war until it does. Israel will never commit crimes against humanity again until it does. The US will not fall to authoritarian tendencies until it does.
Average german discourse.
>so far, the US has not transformed into a police state or a dictatorship. US democracy is too resilient for that.
That’d be so awesome if it were true.
Unfortunately, 90% those tribal tattoo’d Dodge Ram TRT patriots would wipe their ass with the constitution if given the order and the number of LEOs who even know what the bill of rights is would be outnumbered 30 to 1.
The author:
*Since August 1, 2017, Nelles has been reporting from the U.S. as a correspondent for SPIEGEL.DE and SPIEGEL. He is married to a French woman, has two daughters, and lives with his family in Washington, D.C.*
I hope his wife gives him a good scolding.
Long term distrust of the US, I agree is unwise. However, the Americans need to demonstrate good faith desire for reforms. Europe can’t be held hostage every 4 years because the Americans decided it’s time for another autocrat.
I really don’t get the point of this article. The comments from Merz aren’t even anti-American, just critical of trump and of a war of aggression which also hurts the German economy more than the American one. And how has been nice first helped? We got tariffs, threats of invading of a European country and the Americans supporting anti-EU candidates in all the elections.