US has ‘squandered’ its claim to world leadership under Trump, German chancellor Merz suggests

Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz has declared the international order is being destroyed, in a swipe at US president Donald Trump and his disruptive foreign policy.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Merz warned that the United States’ “claim to leadership is disputed, perhaps squandered”.

“A rift has opened up between Europe and the United States. Vice President JD Vance said this very openly here in Munich a year ago,” Merz said, referring to Vance’s deeply contentious speech in which he lambasted traditional allies in Europe.

“He was right. The culture war of the Maga movement is not ours. Freedom of speech ends here with us when that speech goes against human dignity and the constitution. We do not believe in tariffs and protectionism, but in free trade.”

Referring to the upending of a rules-based order since Trump returned to office just over a year ago, the German leader gave a bleak assessment of the current climate.

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“You’ve chosen a grim motto for this conference, ‘under destruction’, and it probably means that the international order based on rights and rules is currently being destroyed,” he told the summit.

“But I’m afraid we have to put it in even harsher terms: This order, as flawed as it has been even in its heyday, no longer exists.”

This year alone, Trump has deposed the leader of Venezuela with a military strike, threatened Greenland with annexation and sent aircraft carriers to the Middle East amid ongoing tensions with Iran.

However, Merz did offer an olive branch to the United States, represented at the three-day summit by secretary of state Marco Rubio.

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“In the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone,” Merz continued, referring to the rise of China, and Russia’s geopolitical aims.

“Dear friends, being a part of Nato is not only Europe’s competitive advantage. It is also the United States’ competitive advantage. So let’s repair and revive transatlantic trust together,” he said.

Merz went on to reiterate the importance of bolstering Nato’s defences and expressed Germany’s commitment to investing billions in the partnership in the coming years.

Europe has been left reeling from Trump’s more aggressive foreign policy in his second term, forcing a reassessment of global alliances. The theme is expected to come up repeatedly during the Munich conference, though Trump himself is not attending.

“No one in Europe, or in the United States, wins from any kind of conflict between old allies,” said Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen on Friday, reiterating Merz’s commitment to retain a good relationship with the U.S.

“So we must do what we can to keep the Americans close to us, but this is a new world disorder that we live in.”