The new conservative chancellor has criticized support for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party by senior Trump administration officials.
Germany's new conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would call on Trump administration officials to stop interfering in German politics.
"I did not interfere in the American election campaign and I did not take sides with one side or the other", Merz told public broadcaster ZDF in a television interview. "I would like to encourage and call on the US government to leave German domestic politics to Germany and to largely stay out of these partisan considerations."
After Germany's federal intelligence agency last week classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a "proven" extremist organization, the party has received support from some of Trump's most senior cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called the decision "disguised tyranny."
In an interview, Merz called the comment an "absurd observation" and suggested he might raise the issue in a scheduled call with US President Donald Trump on Thursday.
When asked whether he would deal with Trump using charm or direct talk, Merz said he would "openly represent" German and European positions.
"Together we are even bigger than the United States", Merz said, speaking of the European Union. "The number of consumers here is larger than in America and Canada combined. So we have something to offer here. We can do something. We are united, to a large extent, and that will be my message to the American government."
Merz said he would meet Trump in person for the first time at the NATO summit in The Hague at the latest in June. To coordinate a common European defense strategy ahead of that meeting, Merz traveled to Paris and Warsaw on Wednesday to meet with his counterparts.
During his campaign, Merz promised that Germany, under his leadership, would play a greater role on the European stage. But the embarrassing initial failure to become chancellor on Tuesday in the Bundestag highlighted his relative political weakness and a slim parliamentary majority at home, potentially hampering his ability to deliver on his campaign promises.