German Chancellor canceled phone call with Trump

**German Chancellor cancels phone call with Trump**

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and US President Donald Trump had planned to speak by phone on September 8. However, the conversation was unexpectedly postponed indefinitely. No official explanation has been provided so far. Nevertheless, German government spokesperson Stefan Cornelius hinted that the issue was not just a scheduling conflict.

The editorial board of the Bild publication suggests that this decision might be related to the White House's reaction to the victory of the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) party. This party won in the regional elections. Trump, meanwhile, welcomed the success of the AfD, who are Merz's political opponents.

The US President wrote on the Truth Social network: "Wow, this was indeed a dark night for the populist party in Germany."

In addition, Trump added the acronym "MGGA!!!". This is similar to his famous phrase Make America Great Again, meaning Make Germany Great Again. Trump did not directly mention the AfD party, but wrote: "They are on the rise."

Cornelius did not comment on whether the postponement of the conversation was related to this post by Trump. He only recalled the position previously expressed by Merz. The Chancellor has repeatedly emphasized that interfering in or commenting on Germany's domestic political situation, especially elections, is unacceptable to him.

The SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) is also increasing pressure on Merz. Dirk Wiese, the leader of the party's faction in the Bundestag, demanded that the federal government clearly react to Trump's words.

"There needs to be a frank conversation. Such interference cannot be allowed. We simply cannot accept this," Wiese said.

The conversation between Merz and Trump was supposed to be dedicated to a completely different topic. They had planned to discuss the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. According to Cornelius, it is important for the Chancellor that the US can continue to rely on the full solidarity of Germany and Europe.

Earlier, Merz said that the US had approved the sale of Tomahawk missiles to Germany. According to him, Berlin and Washington reached a new military agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara. The missiles are considered an important part of the strategy to counter Russia.