Asked at a joint press conference about his unsubstantiated claims that Barack Obama had ordered a wiretap of his phones, Trump tried to rope in the German chancellor. Sweeping his arm in Merkel’s direction, Trump said, “As far as wiretapping ... by this past administration, at least we have something in common.”
Merkel's response to Trump's wiretapping bullshit is v good pic.twitter.com/wCgH7Uuwpn
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) March 17, 2017
This was an allusion to the National Security Agency’s monitoring of Merkel’s phone conversations in 2010. But Merkel didn’t look pleased at the comparison. In fact, her face carried a mixture of annoyance and wonder, as if she couldn’t believe that Trump was actually using her as a human shield to protect himself from his baseless statements.
Merkel joins a long list of America’s allies, including leaders in Australia, England, and Mexico, who have been embarrassed by Trump.