President Joe Biden told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday that he is looking to revitalize the transatlantic alliance with Germany, a relationship that became strained under former President Donald Trump.
The new president has made a series of calls to his foreign counterparts in recent days as part of his efforts to recalibrate U.S. relationships around the globe after four years of Trump’s more inward-looking America First” policy.
The White House said in a statement that Biden conveyed that he viewed the U.S. partnership with NATO and the European Union as the cornerstone of our collective security and shared democratic values.”
Trump and Merkel’s relationship started off icy and remained cool throughout Trump’s term.
After meetings with Trump in 2017, Merkel said Europe could no longer completely rely on its allies and must become more independent.
After the 2018 NATO summit, Trump called for members to devote at least 4% of their GDP to military spending and took…