Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz acknowledges that European powers were enjoying the benefits of U.S. military power without meaningfully contributing to their own defense.
The BBC’s Today program published an interview with the German leader on Friday in which he was asked if President Donald Trump was “indifferent” to the fate of Europe. Merz stopped short of saying Trump is indifferent, but said the leader is “not as clear and as committed as former U.S. presidents.”
“We are all looking for more [independence] from American defense. We know that we have to do more on our own,” Merz admitted. “We have been free riders in the past, and the Americans guaranteed our freedom and our security.”
He continued, “Understandably, they are not willing to do that any longer, and they are asking us to do more. And we are doing more.”
The German chancellor made the comments while in the United Kingdom to strengthen military cooperation between the two nations.