To say that Chancellor Angela Merkel is unlikely to be personally enamoured by US President Donald Trump is something of an understatement. If that were not enough, Trump has personally insulted Merkel on several occasions. So it was revealing to read in Spiegel on Friday that Merkel is bringing along a couple of buddies on her trip to Washington this week. By bringing Kaesar and Krüger, Merkel clearly hopes to offer evidence that good trade relations are in both countries' interests. Speaking in Brussels earlier this week, Merkel told reporters that she would make clear to Trump that trade was an EU responsibility not a German one.

Source: The Local March 13, 2017 11:26 UTC