German Chancellor Angela Merkel was asked about President Donald Trump’s tweets regarding the group of freshmen Democrat lawmakers during a press conference in Berlin on Friday.
Merkel said that she declares her “solidarity” with the Democratic Congresswomen.
“I firmly distance myself from that and I feel solidarity with the women who have been attacked.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is asked about President Trump’s comments against Democratic Congresswomen. pic.twitter.com/LpUjLy9TVp
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) July 19, 2019
The question was about tweets that President Trump posted on Sunday, saying that the Democrat congresswomen should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” referring to Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.
“I distance myself from this decidedly and stand in solidarity with the women who were attacked,” Merkel said. “U.S.’s strength lies exactly in the fact that people of very different nationalities contribute to the strength of the American people.”
“Those [Trump’s statements] are sentiments which are very much in opposition to my impressions [about the U.S.], which I strongly believe in, and it is something that undermines America’s strength,” Merkel continued.
Merkel also addressed the concerns about her health, as she has been filmed violently shaking multiple times in the past month.
"Concerns for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s health grow once more as she was filmed struggling to keep her composure and visibly shaking during an official ceremony for the second time this month." https://t.co/5S7JRcOfWu
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) June 27, 2019
“I understand questions about my health, and I have already given an answer to this,” said the German chancellor. “It is important that I commit myself to the responsibility of acting as head of government. I just would say you have known me for some time and I can perform this role.”
The remarks followed an earlier statement from Merkel claiming that she is still fit to lead the nation.
“I can carry out this role… I have a strong personal interest in my health and, as I said, 2021 is the conclusion of my political work”, the chancellor said during a press conference in Berlin, joking that she hopes “there will be another life [after politics].”
Hans-Georg Maassen, the former President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s domestic security agency, has urged the public to understand that a leader’s health is not a private matter.
Der Gesundheitszustand eines Regierungschefs ist keine Privatsache. Die Menschen in Deutschland haben ein Recht zu erfahren, ob der Regierungschef gesundheitlich noch in der Lage ist, sein Amt mit ganzer Kraft auszuüben. (hgm) https://t.co/iWbpJ360tW
— Hans-Georg Maaßen (@HGMaassen) July 11, 2019
“The state of a political leader’s health is not a private matter,” Dr Maassen tweeted. “The people in Germany have a right to know whether their leader is still physically in a position to fulfill her office with all her strength.”
