ANGELA MERKEL/FRANCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany arrives at the White House on Friday in the broad wake of a visit this week by the French president, Emmanuel Macron. But don’t expect a sequel to the buddy movie. Already, the contrasts could not be starker. Mr. Macron was treated by President Trump to a 21-gun salute, a state dinner, a night of opera and a private visit to the home of George Washington. The public displays of affection between the two men were so gushy that they became the butt of jokes — even by Mr. Macron when, by the way, he addressed a joint session of Congress. On the schedule for Ms. Merkel? A working lunch. The last time Ms. Merkel met Mr. Trump at the White House, in March 2017, the two did not even manage to shake hands before assembled photographers. Few expect their rapport to be much different this time. But the lack of chemistry between Ms. Merkel, a scientist who grew up in communist East Germany, and Mr. Trump, a billionaire with a weakness for beauty pageants, is not new. What is new is the apparent indifference in the White House to the German chancellor, as well as the weakening of Ms. Merkel’s once towering position.”
–Katrin Bennhold, “Merkel Is Next to Visit Trump, Skipping the Bonhomie,” The New York Times online, April 26, 2018