The Effects of Donald Trump’s Election on Germany

Everybody has heard of the US 2016 presidential election, but we decided to look closer at what it will mean for Germany.

Trump said on Face the Nation on CBS on 11.10.16 that Angela Merkel has done insane things in Germany. Trump has personally attacked Merkel more than once on her refugee policies. But in 2015, he said that Merkel is probably the greatest leader in the world and that she is making a fortune for Germany. These two different positions show how Trump is unreliable. Trump’s overwhelming and rash personality could result in damaging Germany and US relations.

Angela Merkel said that Trump is responsible for actions that affect the whole world. Merkel wants to work closely with Trump to preserve common values such as democracy and respect for law. In order for Germany to achieve goals like economic and social stability, environmental protection, and fighting for world peace it relies on the US’s help.

Furthermore, Trump is against funding NATO. He wants countries, like Germany, to pay for themselves or he will withdraw US troops. One of Trump’s advisors, however, says that Trump is open to negotiation. Most likely, with Trump as president, Germany will loose a lot of jobs and the value of the Euro will go down. Additionally, Germany will not gain as much money as before from its exports.

Trump’s win has encouraged right-wing parties in a few European Union Countries. This could result in parties such as the AFD and FPD become more powerful.

A recent poll shows that about 82% of the German population thinks that Trump’s election is bad. About 65% of the population predicts that US and Germany relations will get worse. However, Trump doesn’t have any official foreign policies so we don’t know for sure what will happen with him as president of the US.

Alessandra Brunton (MSS 11), Emily Schwarzburg (9b)